The workshop was organised by the Iraqi Equipment Group and the Iraqi-British Business Centre.

According to Mustafa al-Bazirkan, Chairman of Iraq’s Centre for Information Technology and Research and Spokesman for the Iraqi-British council, “Iraqi officials are seeking to minimise the role of the mediator in the oil contracts as there was corruption in oil contracts during the phase of the Anglo-American occupation of Iraq.”

This sentiment was shared by Northern Oil Co official Tareq Abdul Mohsin who said, “The process of rehabilitating oil utilities which was assigned to the American KBR has not seen light yet.”

It is understood several participants in the workshop, representing US oil companies in Iraq, were accused of such actions in the 18 months from the toppling of the Saddam Hussein regime to the passing of power to the interim Iraqi government.

The American firms in question declined to comment.