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IPFS News Link • Military Industrial Complex

BP still a top supplier to U.S. military: total of 26 contracts valued at $2.2 billion

• Ben Rooney

BP is still among the biggest suppliers of fuel to the U.S. military, and the Defense Department has no plans to stop awarding the company lucrative contracts.

As of last week, BP has been awarded 17 contracts valued at just under $1 billion, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) said. That makes BP the third-largest supplier of fuel to the armed services so far this fiscal year.

In fiscal 2009, the DLA granted BP a total of 26 contracts valued at $2.2 billion, or nearly 12% of overall fuel purchases, making it the military’s largest fuel supplier that year.

Mimi Schirmacher, a spokeswoman for the DLA, said the agency currently has no plans to replace BP as a supplier.

"BP participates in multiple DLA programs," she said. "Since no debarment or suspension actions are in effect, they are currently eligible for contract awards according to the Federal Acquisition Regulation."

In fact, BP has already received one small contract since the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon killed 11 workers and led to a catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. On May 17, the DLA awarded BP a contract worth $342,854 over four years to supply jet fuel to a regional airport in Oregon.

 

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