London-based BP said it had made a "giant" oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico, reaffirming the area's importance to Western oil majors.

BP said in a statement on Wednesday that it had made the find at its Tiber Prospect in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The well was drilled in Keathley Canyon block 102.

BP has a 62 percent working interest in the block while Brazilian state-controlled Petrobras owns 20 percent and US oil major ConocoPhillips owns 18 percent.

"These material discoveries together with our industry leading acreage position support the continuing growth of our deepwater Gulf of Mexico business into the second half of the next decade," said Andy Inglis, BP's head of Exploration and Production.

Further appraisal will be required to ascertain the volumes of oil present, BP said.

The Gulf of Mexico has become increasingly important to Western oil majors as oil rich-countries such as Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Russia increasingly reserve their richest fields to be developed by their state-owned oil companies.

As nearer-shore discoveries dry up, companies have pushed further out to sea, which has forced them to develop new technologies to detect and extract the oil. - Reuters