NEW YORK (CNN) - Halliburton Co. on Friday announced plans to spin off a minority portion KBR, its engineering and construction group, and perhaps sell parts of it.

KBR, one of the largest U.S. contractors in Iraq, has been at the center of controversy as a result of Halliburton's (Research) connection to the Bush administration. Vice President Dick Cheney served as chairman and chief executive officer of Halliburton from 1995 to 2000, and the administration has been accused of favoring Halliburton and its subsidiaries, primarily KBR, in granting contracts in Iraq.

According to a company spokeswoman, Halliburton plans to file with the Securities Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of 20 percent of the shares in KBR.

The company said it is confident that the partial spinoff of KBR will benefit Halliburton's stock price.

Separate from the IPO, Halliburton also may consider selling pieces of KBR, the spokeswoman said.

Thursday, Halliburton reported fourth-quarter revenue for KBR of $3 billion, a 3 percent decrease from the same period in 2004. The company attributed the decline to decreased involvement in Iraq.

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