14 DAY TRIAL // Just yesterday, the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States agreed to finally allow British multinational oil and gas company BP to once against seek oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico.
The company was put in the doghouse as far as obtaining government contracts was concerned in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010, when a whopping 200 million gallons (750 million liters) of oil spilled in said region.
On its website, the Environmental Protection Agency details that it decided to allow the oil and gas giant to once again do business in the United States as a result of the company's agreeing to take steps towards safety and ethics improvements.
The Agency goes on to explain that this administrative agreement is to be in place for five years, and that BP's working agenda is to be kept a close eye on during all this time.
More precisely, it would appear that an independent auditor approved by the Environmental Protection Agency is to conduct an annual review of the company throughout the entire duration of the administrative agreement.
This independent auditor's sole job will be to ensure that the oil and gas giant complies with the terms of the agreement. Should this not be the case in certain circumstances, the Agency has the right to intervene and correct the problem.
The British multinational oil and gas company appears to be quite thrilled to have entered this administrative agreement and to once again be able to close contracts with the United States government.
“After a lengthy negotiation, BP is pleased to have reached this resolution, which we believe to be fair and reasonable,” John Mingé, chairman and president of BP America, Inc., said in a statement.
“Today’s agreement will allow America’s largest energy investor to compete again for federal contracts and leases,” he went on to say, as cited on BP's official website.
“This is a fair agreement that requires BP to improve its practices in order to meet the terms we’ve outlined together,” added Craig Hooks on behalf of the agency.
Furthermore, “Many months of discussions and assessments have led up to this point, and I’m confident we’ve secured strong provisions to protect the integrity of federal procurement programs.”
The administrative agreement between the United States Environmental Protection Agency, on behalf of the federal government, and BP came into effect the day it was announced, i.e. this past March 13.
According to the company, it applies to all the suspended and debarred BP entities, including BP Exploration & Production Inc., BP p.l.c. and certain affiliated companies.