A mining exploration permit that encroaches on Western Australia's tourist drawcard the Pinnacles and other sites of national environmental significance has been condemned by a Nationals MP.

Local MP Shane Love, who represents the district of Moore, said the State Government should not have granted oil and gas company Norwest Energy the exploration permit which covers parts of three national parks, including Nambung, which contains the Pinnacles.

The permit also overlaps the town sites of Green Head, Jurien Bay, Cervantes and Lancelin.

Environmental groups are concerned the company will use oil and gas extraction processes like fracking in environmentally sensitive areas.

Mr Love said the permits have caused a great deal of unnecessary angst in the community and it was unlikely the company would be allowed to develop in iconic areas.

"I don't think the company thinks it will ever be able to explore at the Pinnacles so I don't see why the West Australian Government would grant an exploration permit over that particular area," he said.

"All it does is cause concern in the community that something might happen."

Exploration permits are granted for an initial six-year period with two five-year renewals.

Norwest CEO Peter Munachen said concerns that the company would hydraulically frack nationally-renowned tourist sites in WA were completely unfounded.

"Given that our consideration is petroleum - in this case oil - there's no need to frack a well, full stop," he said.

Pinnacles 'not suitable to mine'

Mr Munachen said he was "sick and tired" of telling people that the company had no intention to frack within the permit area, let alone mine iconic sites.

"It's in the media ... it's in the local press, we sent letters to the residents, we put advertisements in the local papers saying 'we will not frack'," he said.

"So what else do we have to say?"

The Pinnacles is a popular tourist attraction located north of Perth in the Nambung national park. ( Lisa Gilby: User submitted )

Mr Munachen said an early investigation of the coastal strip, including the Pinnacles region, within the exploration permit zone suggested the area was not suitable to mine.

"The simple fact is the preliminary work we've done clearly indicates there's a whole lot of geological reasons why there's actually no interest there whatsoever," he said.

"Even if there was something there [in the Pinnacles] you would have to be crackers to think you could go and frack there."

The permit includes sections of the Numbung, Drovers Cave and Lesueur National parks and four nature reserves.

Mr Love said he was disappointed the exploration permit had been granted.

"I don't think there's any prospect that I think the community would accept development of a gas field in some of those blocks that have been allocated in the iconic national parks along the Turquoise Coast," he said.

"But I don't believe that they should have been allocated."

Iconic areas should be 'explicitly protected' says MP

Mr Love said he had written to the Minister for Mines and Petroleum, Bill Marmion, outlining that iconic areas should be "explicitly protected" from any sort of drilling associated with fracking.

The Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP) said the exploration permit does not guarantee a "right of entry" and only entitles the permit holder the right to apply to conduct exploration activities within the area.

In a statement, the department's general manager of petroleum, tenure and land access, Beverley Bower, said all applications were subject to thorough assessment and approvals processes.

"Proposed activities within the title area will be subject to strict Department of Mines and Petroleum approvals, as well as multi-agency approvals, regarding environmental, health and safety regulations and every activity is assessed on its own merit," she said.

"Drilling cannot occur in national parks until the Minister for Mines and Petroleum has consulted with the Environment Minister and any concerns of the Conservation Commission have been adequately addressed."

Mr Munachen said the company has been nothing but transparent and would look to closely engage with the local community early next year.

"The fact is the regulator sets the rules, they're the umpire, they decide what you can do and what you can't," he said.

"So until they change the rules, we've got the licence.

"But we're more than happy to work in with the local community and, of course, to actually get the licence awarded we had to negotiate with the traditional owners and they're more than happy with the arrangement."

The DMP said there are some 120 petroleum exploration permits and 24 production licences in Western Australia.