The US government has lifted a ban on BP bidding for new federal contracts. <br /><br />That came after after the company reached an agreement with Washington on safety, ethical and corporate governance requirements.<br /><br />It means BP can be considered for federal contracts on everything from fuel supply contracts to offshore oil exploration leases.<br /><br />It is one of the largest suppliers of fuel to the US government.<br /><br />The contract ban was imposed after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill. <br /><br />BP had complained it was being unfairly penalised. <br /><br />The company is still paying out millions of dollars to settle damages claims from Gulf residents in a contentious process BP says is being mismanaged by the administrator, Louisiana lawyer Patrick Juneau.<br /><br />BP has set aside about $42 billion (30 billion euros) in charges related to the spill.<br /><br />After news of the agreement, BP’s shares rose in London and New York, a sign investors were hopeful the company could now try to grow its US offshore operations.
