Great Australian Bight drilling block proposal criticised as 'completely irresponsible'

The head of the Great Australian Bight in Yalata, South Australia, is a picture of rugged beauty.

The Wilderness Society has slammed a Federal Government proposal to open up another oil and gas exploration block in the Great Australian Bight.

The section of water off South Australia is one of 21 areas being put forward for public consultation and could be included in the 2018 Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release.

Peter Owen from the Wilderness Society said the Bight was a totally inappropriate place to carry out deep sea drilling.

"It's a magnificent wilderness area, it's home to one of the most significant whale nurseries in the world," he said.

Both BP and Chevron have recently abandoned plans to drill in the area.

"We know from the oil spill modelling that BP released just before they withdrew that if there's a blowout in the Bight there's very little anyone can do about it," Mr Owen said.

"We all remember the [oil spill in the] Gulf of Mexico, that devastated that region. We cannot afford to put the Great Australian Bight at risk."

BP said it wanted to focus on projects it could exploit in the short-to-medium term, while Chevron blamed low oil prices.

Federal Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Matt Canavan said future oil and gas projects were important.

"Investment in new permit areas is crucial to maintaining a pipeline of future developments and to strengthen our long-term energy security," he said.

"The annual acreage release is a major part of the Australian Government's efforts to attract this exploration investment."

But Mr Owen said it was beyond belief that the Federal Government was continuing to push the release of acreage in the Bight.

"It just seems to be really quite misguided, completely irresponsible to be honest, and not listening to the views of the Australian people," he said.

"There is huge opposition to deep sea drilling in the Great Australian Bight and it continues to grow."

SA Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the Bight must be protected and should be ruled out for any future projects.

"The Federal Government is just barking up the wrong tree," she said.

"[South Australians] are very protective of that very special marine area and they don't want it played with."