BP faces ban on future American operations

[babylonsister]

BP faces ban on future American operations
Danny Fortson



AMERICAN legislators are examining plans to “debar” BP from government contracts and oil exploration deals as punishment for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The proposal comes amid frantic attempts by the Obama administration to quell public anger over the British company’s role in the worst oil spill in the country’s history.

The administration is understood to be weighing the legality of a process called debarment. It would stop BP from being awarded new fuel supply contracts by government clients and ban it from being granted new oil drilling leases.

BP is the biggest provider of oil and gas to the US military, with contracts worth more than $2 billion (£1.4 billion)annually. “The question for the American government is whether they want to break this company. They could do, but at what cost to the economy?” one Washington source said yesterday.

The disclosure came as the oil giant made its first breakthrough after seven weeks of faltering attempts to contain oil gushing from the ruptured undersea well 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana.

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http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article7144839.ece