Fuel giant faces ban

BP has been banned by the US government from bidding for new federal contracts over its "lack of business integrity" in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The move could threaten the British-born firm’s status as a major US offshore oil and gas producer and the biggest supplier to the American military.

The suspension, announced by the Environmental Protection Agency, comes on the heels of BP's November 15 agreement with the US government to plead guilty to criminal misconduct in the Gulf of Mexico disaster, the worst offshore oil spill in US history.

The British energy giant agreed to pay £2.8bn in penalties. BP and its affiliates are barred from new federal contracts until they demonstrate they can meet federal business standards, the EPA said.