BP faces temporary ban from new US contracts

[Gerald]

BP has been temporarily suspended from new contracts with the US government, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said.

While it is unclear how long the ban will last, it follows BP's record fine earlier this month over the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The EPA said it was taking action due to BP's "lack of business integrity" over its handling of the blowout.But BP said it had spent $14bn (£8.8bn) on its response to the spill.

"The BP suspension will temporarily prevent the company and the named affiliates from getting new federal government contracts, grants or other covered transactions until the company can provide sufficient evidence to EPA demonstrating that it meets federal business standards," said the EPA in a statement.

"Suspensions are a standard practice when a responsibility question is raised by action in a criminal case."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20528958



Note: 28 November 2012 Last updated at 18:38 GMT