Posted on 11/28/2012 8:08:02 AM PST by JoyjoyfromNJ
"The U.S. government temporarily banned BP Plc from federal contracts on Wednesday over its "lack of business integrity" in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, a move that the British company had said could force it to rethink its entire U.S. operations. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said the suspension was "standard practice" following criminal actions. . . .
The suspension means that BP will not be able to secure any new contracts with the U.S. government, including the lease of new exploration territory in the federal Gulf of Mexico, one of BP's biggest oil production regions globally. Some 20 million acres of offshore territory is being auctioned later Wednesday.
The suspension will not affect existing leases. . . . [The EPA] did not say how long the suspension could last."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
BP's Finance Director Brian Gilvary told investors on a November 15 conference call that should a blanket ban be put in place, the company may have to rethink its entire U.S. business. . . ."
If this is a duplicate, my apologies. I was struck again by the selective anti-business bias. The big banks & investment firms from 2008 aren’t banned from government contracts or fined very heavily now are they?
I would leave now before Obama Admin starts taking your stuff
The Federal Gov blocks BP due to a lack of integrity?
Is that a joke?
Well thats sure to bring down the price of oil. /s
Additional info for thread
BP suspended from new federal contracts, EPA says
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2012/11/28/bp-suspended-from-new-federal-contracts-epa-says/
British oil giant BP has been temporarily suspended from getting new contracts with the federal government under an Environmental Protection Agency decision announced Wednesday that is in response to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico rig explosion and oil spill.
The EPA’s move will affect at least some of BP’s activity on the outer continental shelf, where it is among the largest oil and gas producers. For instance, while the suspension is in place, the government will not award the company any offshore drilling leases, including any that would have gone to BP during Wednesday’s auction in New Orleans, an administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
However, another administration official confirmed the suspension would not affect action on BP’s existing offshore leases. Federal regulators will continue processing BP’s applications for permits to drill and do other work offshore.
It was not immediately clear how much money was at stake for BP. A company spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the EPA’s move and the impact on BP.
In its latest annual report, BP anticipated that EPA might take the action it now has, and the company addressed the potential risks to its business operations from such a suspension.
“Debarment of BP Exploration & Production Inc. would prevent it from bidding on or entering into new federal contracts or other federal transactions, and from obtaining new orders or extensions to existing federal contracts, including federal procurement contracts or leases,” BP said in the regulatory filing.
It did not specify the financial impact it expected.
The EPA said in a statement that it is taking the action because of “BP’s lack of business integrity as demonstrated by the company’s conduct with regard to the Deepwater Horizon blowout, explosion, oil spill, and response.” The EPA also cited the felony manslaughter and other charges filed against the company by the Justice Department on Nov. 15.
BP entered a not guilty plea in federal court in New Orleans on Tuesday. It was a procedural move. A BP lawyer reiterated the company’s plan to plead guilty at a later date as part of a multibillion-dollar settlement with the government.
Eleven rig workers were killed with the Deepwater Horizon exploded on April 20, 2010, after an undersea well owned by BP blew out in the Gulf about 50 miles from the coast of Louisiana. The resulting oil spill was the worst offshore spill in U.S. history.
“Federal executive branch agencies take these actions to ensure the integrity of federal programs by conducting business only with responsible individuals or companies,” EPA said of its decision. “Suspensions are a standard practice when a responsibility question is raised by action in a criminal case.”
The BP suspension will temporarily prevent the company and certain 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, the agency said.
The suspension does not affect existing agreements BP may have with the government, EPA said.
U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat and the ranking member of House Committee on Natural Resources, praised the EPA’s move.
“When someone recklessly crashes a car, their license and keys are taken away. The wreckage of BP’s recklessness is still sitting at the bottom of the ocean and this kind of time out is an appropriate element of the suite of criminal, civil and economic punishments that BP should pay for their disaster,” said Markey, a frequent BP critic since the disaster.
EPA’s gotta go. Who ARE these people? Who elected Lisa J. Queen of the Universe?
Last I checked, BP had subsidiaries heavily into alternative green energy. Wanna bet they're still gettin' government cheese?
“EPA’s gotta go. Who ARE these people? Who elected Lisa J. Queen of the Universe?”
A woman who used to work for me as a facilities engineer and handled all our DEC/EPA related work, was looking for a job in the EPA and found them to be hiring but a pistol permit was a requirement. Hmmm, very strange.
Well who needs those investment dollars anyway. We can just have King Obama print more money and give away more free stuff. Die capitalist pig dogs. Let the leeches of the world unite!
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