The film was written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, who also wrote the screenplay for Traffic.

He said the script, which investigates the oil industry's relationship with politics, was based on an autobiography by CIA officer Robert Baer.

Ms Vergniault also admitted reading Mr Baer's book, but said it was not the source material for the scenes in Syriana that she claimed were copied from her script.

The screenwriter had been seeking 2m euros (£1.4m) in damages from the makers of Syriana.

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