BP Plc’s decision to move ahead with a $9 billion (7.10 billion pounds) project to drill in the Gulf of Mexico is the first step toward major oil companies moving forward with U.S. offshore plans postponed during crude’s price rout. Exploration and development of new wells in the Gulf slowed as crude prices cratered from over $100 a barrel in 2014 to a low of $26.05 early this year. The project, known as Mad Dog Phase 2, is the first new Gulf platform to be sanctioned in a year and a half, since rival oil major Royal Dutch Shell Plc proceeded with development of its Appatomattox project in July, 2015. BP’s decision on the platform and infrastructure, announced on Thursday, came after the oil major managed to cut projected costs for the project by more than 50 percent, BP said. Mad Dog, which will have the capacity to pump […]