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The government awards contracts to companies with histories of misconduct such as contract fraud and environmental, ethics, and labor violations. In the absence of a centralized federal database listing instances of misconduct, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is providing such data. We believe that it will lead to improved contracting decisions and public access to information about how the government spends hundreds of billions of taxpayer money each year on goods and services. Report an instance of misconduct »

BP P.L.C.

U.S. ex rel. Wright v. Chevron (Underpayment of Natural Gas Royalties)

Date: 09/16/2011 (Date of Settlement Announcement)

Misconduct Type: Government Contract Fraud

Enforcement Agency: Interior

Contracting Party: Interior

Court Type: Civil

Amount: $20,500,000

Disposition: Settlement

Synopsis: BP Amoco Corp. (formerly Amoco Corp.), Amoco Production Company, BP Exploration & Oil Inc., BP America Inc., Atlantic Richfield Company, and Vastar agreed to pay $20.5 million to resolve claims that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly underpaying royalties owed on natural gas produced from federal and American Indian leases. The government alleged these companies improperly deducted from the royalty values they reported the cost of boosting gas up to pipeline pressures, improperly reported processed gas as unprocessed gas, and improperly failed to perform “dual accounting” on certain federal leases.