BP banned from new US contracts

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.

BP has pleaded guilty to 14 criminal charges over the accident.

"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."

The US agency said that the temporary ban would not affect existing agreements BP has with the government.

However it could potentially impact the company's future earnings.

The UK company was the biggest fuel supplier to the US Department of Defense, which awarded it contracts valued at about $1.35bn (£845m) in 2011.

BP's contracts with the US military jumped 33% over a year in 2011, according to data from Bloomberg. The group was awarded a fuel contract in May from the Pentagon while it faced mounting legal costs over the disaster.

The Deepwater Horizon accident, in which an oil rig exploded killing 11 people, caused one of the worst oil spills in history.

The Environmental Protection Agency is the lead agency for suspension and debarment matters regarding BP.