HOUSTON - US oil giant Exxon Mobil announced Wednesday it made two major oil discoveries and a natural gas find in the Gulf of Mexico with combined estimated reserves of more than 700 million barrels of oil equivalent.

"This is one of the largest discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico in the last decade," Steve Greenlee, president of Exxon Mobil Exploration Company, said in a statement.

"We plan to work with our joint venture partners and other lessees in the area to determine the best way to safely develop these resources as rapidly as possible," he said.

The new discoveries were made in the company's Keathley Canyon blocks, and the oil discovery is in the company's first exploration well following the US moratorium on deepwater drilling last year.

Exxon said plans to drill the well last year were halted as the US imposed the deepwater drilling ban. The Texas-based company adjusted its drilling plan to meet new federal guidelines and won a drilling permit on March 22.