A proposal by petroleum giant Shell to drill for oil and gas off Western Australia's renowned Ningaloo Reef has been slammed by environmentalists as too dangerous for the area's marine life.
Shell has applied for federal environmental approval for 60 days' exploration drilling about 50km west of the Ningaloo marine park's boundary, with work to start as early as September.
But environment group WWF says the risk of a spill is too great next to the one of the most biodiverse coral reef systems in the world.
The reef was on the national heritage register, was nominated for world heritage listing and was near important migration routes for whales, dolphins, turtles and whale sharks, WWF's Paul Gamblin said.
"We're talking about pretty high-risk oil and gas activities as drilling goes, right next to one of the world's last healthy coral reef systems," Mr Gamblin told AAP.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
"Not a good mix."
He said WWF would push the federal government to carry out a full assessment of Shell's proposal, not just a partial assessment.
He said the government should put a hold on further development until the lessons had been absorbed from the 2009 Montara oil spill off the WA coast and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010.
Shell spokesman John D'Agostino said that before exploration could proceed the company had to get all the necessary safety and environmental approvals.
"Shell has a very strong commitment to the protection of biodiversity and we meet this commitment for applying a high standard of operating practices and adhering to strict environmental management plans in all our operations."
Federal Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson said the government was working to ensure the lessons of Montara and the Gulf were learnt and that Australia had the best and safest offshore regulatory regime in the world.
He said that in lodging its application, Shell was following the government's stringent processes to ensure all petroleum exploration and extraction was undertaken in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.
WA Acting Premier Kim Hames said the state government was committed to protecting Ningaloo Reef, but at this stage Shell had only made the application to the federal government.
"They will then make that application to the state, and then the state has the process of assessing the safety features around it, applying conditions to ensure safety," Dr Hames told reporters.
"We want to make sure Ningaloo Reef as a system is protected and we have concerns because of oil spills that we have seen in parts of the world.
"Under the current process it needs approval by the state and federal government and we the state have the final say."
