Australians Stage Mock Oil Spill at BP HQ Amid New Drilling Plans

Activists protested in Melbourne outside British Petroleum's (BP) headquarters against proposal to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Protesters in Melbourne have staged a mock oil spill outside British Petroleum's (BP) headquarters over the company's plans to drill in the Great Australian Bight, local media reported Thursday.

Last month, the petroleum giant resubmitted its environmental plan for a proposal to drill for oil in the bight to the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA). The initial plan was proposed in October, but the regulator demanded to introduce changes before consideration.

"This is totally inappropriate, so the message is going out all over the world now, BP cannot be allowed to do this,", Director of the environmental group The Wilderness Society Peter Owen told 9NEWS Melbourne.

The activists protested over the initiative, warning of the major environmental, social and reputation risk in case BP gets down to drilling the bight.

In particular, they questioned the quality of BP's oil spill modelling, and expressed fear the drilling would put at risk the bight's diverse marine life.

The Great Australian Bight is a large oceanic open bay, off the central and western portions of the southern coastline of mainland Australia. It has long been exploited as part of the fishing, whaling and shellfish industries.