As energy firm Chevron pushes on with plans to drill four exploration wells in the Great Australian Bight (GAB), an opposing alliance is preparing to release a documentary it says will initiate tourism in the region and persuade Australians to resist its mining.

Chevron last year reaffirmed its commitment to deep sea drilling hundreds of kilometres west of Port Lincoln in the GAB — shortly after BP backed down on its own drilling plans for the region.

BP had faced fierce resistance from an alliance of environmental groups which said drilling in waters up to 2.5 kilometres deep in the roughest seas in the world posed too great a risk of oil spill and disaster.

Sea Shepherd Australia general manager Jeff Hansen said Chevron would face equal resistance.

He said a documentary showcasing the region as one of the world's "last great big intact wilderness areas of the planet" would premiere in Adelaide on Earth Day, April 22.

"When people see this footage of what's there, this incredible natural wonder that we have off our coast, I guarantee people are going to come from all over the world to see it," Mr Hansen said.

He said tourism and fishery industries already generated by the region were worth more than $2 billion but overseas interest in the untouched wilderness would "generate even more money into the economy".

"I think tourism [in] Australia is really what's at stake here, and we need to be showcasing the natural wonder of the Great Australian Bight, which is a massive conservation estate," Mr Hansen said.

BP's environment's plan was refused twice by the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA).

The energy giant then submitted a modified plan to NOPSEMA before it chose to withdraw its plans, saying it would focus instead on projects it could exploit in the short-to-medium term.

Sea Shepherd's Jeff Hansen says Chevron can expect a fight if wants to drill in the region. ( ABC News: Malcolm Sutton )

Chevron with a history of deepwater drilling

Chevron already conducts deepwater semi-submersible drilling on Western Australia's North West Shelf and has been making contact with local communities in SA.

It said nothing had changed since a parliamentary hearing late last year when it flagged it might delay drilling until 2018.

Exploration general manager David Moffat said it had commenced its environment plan and had undertaken preliminary engagement with government and community stakeholders.

"In Australia, since our first year of deepwater exploration in 1987, we have drilled more than 80 wells off Western Australia without a single loss of well control" he said.

"That's 80 wells we have drilled successfully and safely with no impact on the environment."

A Wilderness Society map showing proposed drilling locations by energy companies in the Great Australian Bight. ( Supplied: Wilderness Society )

Mr Moffat said Chevron had extensive "experience in deepwater exploration, drilling in extreme conditions and remote locations" world wide.

This included off the Canadian coast at Newfoundland, "which is analogous to the Bight", and in the Gulf of Mexico.

"Chevron prides itself on the work we have done at Barrow Island, a Class A natural reserve of WA," Mr Moffat said.

"We have produced over 330 million barrels of oil there over the last 50 years and it is now the site of the Gorgon LNG project, which is in production."

But Mr Hansen said the difference between the sea conditions of the Great Australian Bight and north-west WA was like "night and day".

"There's nothing between the Great Australian Bight and Antarctica," he said.

"You get massive swells of up to 15 to 20 metres. It's insane to even be contemplating drilling for oil here."

The documentary, Operation Jeedara, will be officially launched in Adelaide.