BP faced a temporary suspension from new contracts with the United States government according to the Environmental Protection Agency. It was not indicated how long the ban would last and it followed the record fine BP had to pay for the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The EPA said that the action was made because of BP’s lack of business integrity with regards to handling the blowout. The company said that it spent $14 billion connected to the oil spill. In a statement, the EPA said that the BP suspension will temporarily prevent the company as well as its affiliates from getting new federal government contracts, grants or any other covered transactions until it complies with federal business standards.
BP and EPA said that the temporary ban would not affect the existing contracts that the oil company has with the government. The oil giant said that the suspension could be lifted any time soon. The agency informed BP that it is preparing an agreement that could result to the lifting of the temporary suspension.
After the Deepwater Horizon accident, the United States has granted BP more than 50 new leases in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil giant has been drilling since the government lifted the moratorium. Because of the new directive, BP will be excluded from the lease of new exploration fields in the Gulf of Mexico, which include around 20 million acres that was auctioned Wednesday.
Congressman Ed Markey, senior member of the Natural Resources Committee in Congress, said that when a driver recklessly crashes a car, his license and keys were taken from him. BP’s recklessness is still found at the bottom of the ocean and it is appropriate to punish it through criminal, civil and economic actions. He added that BP should pay for the disaster.
