Mexico City ? President Vicente Fox climbed aboard a drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday to formally announce a new deep-water oil discovery he said could eventually yield 10 billion barrels of crude oil.

An exploratory well dubbed Noxal 1 was drilled at a depth of 3,070 feet below the water, and is seeking a depth of 13,125 feet.

“With Noxal we will begin a new era of oil exploration in our country,” Fox said aboard the “Ocean Worker 6 Britania” platform.

Government estimates say the find could exceed reserves at the giant offshore field Cantarell, Mexico’s largest oil field, which has seen its production decline but is still expected to yield 1.9 million barrels a day this year.

Luis Ramirez, chief executive of Mexico’s government-run oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, said Noxal is the fourth deep-water well explored by Pemex.

Ramirez said that while production tests will be conducted in coming weeks, “evidence found is sufficient to infer potential reserves to be discovered that could reach 10 billion barrels of crude oil equivalent.”