Australia reef oil drilling on hold

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Plans to search for oil close to Australia’s treasured Great Barrier Reef have been put on hold because of fears that it could threaten endangered whale species, the government said Tuesday.

Perth-based Norwegian oil company subsidiary TGS-NOPEC had lodged an application to conduct seismic tests 30 miles from the world heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Federal Environment Minister Robert Hill said that although the testing would not damage the reef, it could harm whales such as the humpback, which migrate along Australia’s eastern coast each year.

Documentation provided by the company did not provide enough data on the potential impact on whales, Hill said. The company was asked to give more information.

There was also a concern that the testing could later lead to drilling if oil was found, Hill said.

“It seems obvious that seismic activity is carried out only as a precursor to further exploration and production activities such as drilling,” he said.

Hill asked the Queensland state government, which has control over prospecting off the coast, to assess if oil and gas exploration or production could be conducted without damaging the reef’s fragile ecosystems.

The 1,200-mile Great Barrier Reef is the largest complex of coral reefs and islands in the world, comprising more than 2,600 individual reefs and some 300 islands off Australia’s east coast.