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Oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon spill
Oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon spill washed up in Louisiana in 2010. Environmentalists fear a similar tragedy if drilling in the Great Australian Bight is given the go-ahead. Photograph: Erik S Lesser/EPA
Oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon spill washed up in Louisiana in 2010. Environmentalists fear a similar tragedy if drilling in the Great Australian Bight is given the go-ahead. Photograph: Erik S Lesser/EPA

BP's plans to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight knocked back

This article is more than 8 years old

Regulator says application to drill four exploration wells in region failed to meet environmental standards, but oil giant has vowed to try again

Oil giant BP’s application to drill in the Great Australian Bight has been rejected after it fell short of environmental standards.

The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) rejected BP’s application to drill four exploration wells next year.

However, BP is not deterred and vowed to rework its application.

“NOPSEMA is a diligent and thorough regulator and we expect to have to work hard and take the time to demonstrate that we have got our EP right,” the company said in a statement.

The South Australian government said the setback was evidence of the regulator’s diligence and efficacy.

But Independent South Australian senator Nick Xenophon will push for legislation giving the commonwealth the final say on drilling in the Great Australian Bight.

“It appears to be an accident of history that NOPSEMA has no ministerial oversight for decisions as vital as letting exploration drilling into the Great Australian Bight,” he said.

The Greens are likely to support the move, saying BP has a “shocking” environmental record.

“BP clearly hasn’t learned from their disastrous Deepwater Horizon spill five years ago,” senator Robert Simms said.

The Wilderness Society of South Australia, which has campaigned hard against oil and gas drilling in bight, says BP would put marine life at risk.

“The Great Australian Bight is a haven for whales, boasting the world’s most significant southern right whale nursery as well as many humpback, sperm, blue and beak whales,” director Peter Owen said.

The group last month released modelling showing an oil spill in the Bight risked closing all fisheries from South Australia to Victoria and Tasmania.

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