The EPA has lifted a ban that didn't allow BP to bid for federal contracts. The ban was put in place in Nov. 2012, because of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. BP paid a $4.5 billion fine after pleading guilty to manslaughter, after 11 people died from the explosion that led to the spill. The government contracts BP bids on are usually with the Defense Department, and have been worth billions in the past. BP can also now begin working in the Gulf again.