International energy company Equinor says it can drill for oil safely in the Great Australian Bight but its program has been branded dangerous and irresponsible with environment groups urging the federal government to block the project.
The company has released its draft environment plan for an exploration well more than 370 kilometres off the South Australian Coast.
If Stromlo-1 receives all necesssary regulatory approvals, drilling is expected to start in the summer of 2020/21.
Equinor's assessment says while 59,000 offshore wells have been drilled worldwide since 1980, there had only been three large spills and in only one of those, did oil reach the shore.
"The risks associated with drilling exploration wells far offshore are lower because any oil spilled would undergo weeks to months of weathering at sea, during which time its toxicity would be greatly reduced, before reaching sensitive coastal areas," the company said.
Equinor said it would also use preventative barriers to minimise the risk of an oil spill and, in the event of a spill, would use multiple layers of well intervention to stop the flow.
It would also employ a range of measures to minimise environmental consequences, including the use of dispersants and the mechanical containment and recovery of any oil.
"Equinor has implemented strict barriers to prevent a spill, prepare intervention and mitigation measures as back-up and is confident that the risk has been reduced," the company said.
But environment groups said the drilling program would put thousands of kilometres of pristine coastline in grave danger.
"Drilling in the Great Australian Bight, with its extreme depth and violent oceans, is dangerous and irresponsible," Greenpeace senior campaigner Nathaniel Pelle said.
"This place is Australia's whale nursery, it's populated by probably the highest concentration of dolphins in the world, and is home to more unique species than the Great Barrier Reef."
Wilderness Society South Australian director Peter Owens said modelling had shown that a well blowout in the Great Australian Bight could impact anywhere along all of southern Australia's coast, from Western Australia, through SA and Victoria, Bass Strait and north to NSW.
He said a spill could hit Adelaide in 20 days and could reach Port Lincoln and Kangaroo Island in 15 days.
It would be devastating for South Australia's $442 million fishing industry and to the coastal tourism.
"It's totally irresponsible to be risking the Bight and a liveable climate for our children when the stakes are so high," Mr Owens said.
