BJ Services, ExxonMobil pay fines for U.S. export violations

BJ Services, ExxonMobil pay fines for U.S. export violations

   BJ Services Co. USA of Texas has agreed to pay a $142,450 civil penalty to settle charges that it illegally exported chemicals without the required U.S. Commerce Department licenses.

   The Commerce Department alleged that between October 1999 and June 2002, BJ Services knowingly made 13 exports of items controlled for chemical weapons reasons to various destinations without the proper export licenses. BJ Services voluntarily disclosed the violations to the Commerce Department.

   As part of the settlement, BJ Services must perform an audit of its internal compliance program and submit it to the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security Office of Export Enforcement.

   ExxonMobil Corp. in Fairfax, Va., also agreed to pay civil penalties totaling $49,500 to settle charges that affiliates of the former Mobil Oil Corp. in Texas, the United Kingdom and Egypt made unauthorized re-exports of computers and related hardware to Sudan.

   The Commerce Department alleged that the shipments were made between June 1999 and February 2000. The United States has maintained a trade embargo against Sudan since 1997.

   According to the department, ExxonMobil voluntarily disclosed the violations and “cooperated fully with the investigation.”