Oil major BP has approved a $9-billion investment in its Mad Dog project in the Gulf of Mexico, its first major new platform in the region since a 2010 explosion at its Macondo well led to the worst offshore disaster in U.S. history. The decision shows confidence that the company can safely operate in the region and is a bet that oil produced in the deepwater offshore can compete with rival on-shore production. The project’s costs have declined from over $20 billion initially, to less than half that amount, BP said. “This announcement shows that big deepwater projects can still be economic in a low price environment in the U.S. if they are designed in a smart and cost-effective way,” said Bob Dudley, BP’s chief executive officer. The platform is the first BP-operated project […]