Anglo-Dutch conglomerate applies for permit to drill just 30 miles off World Heritage-listed coral reef in Western Australia
PHOTO ALAMY: The Ningaloo Reef, under threat from Shell’s plans to drill for oil nearby
By Kathy Marks
Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Shell Oil has come under heavy criticism for planning an oil and gas drilling site that could threaten a coral reef off the coast of Australia that is among the most valuable marine ecosystems on the planet.
Just 30 miles away from the marine park that protects Ningaloo Reef, a haven for sealife that was recently nominated for World Heritage status, the proposed drilling project has raised fears of an oil spill that could seriously damage the reef and the creatures that depend on it. Warnings of the risks come shortly after a major international report that three quarters of the world’s coral reefs are under severe threat of ecological catastrophe from overfishing, pollution, and climate change. Ningaloo is one of the minority that is currently relatively protected from such dangers.