SHELL chief executive Peter Voser says the petroleum giant can't guarantee there won't be any environmental damage caused by drilling near the world-renowned Ningaloo Reef.

Royal Dutch Shell has applied for Australian Government approval for 60 days' exploration for oil and gas about 50km west of the boundary of the Ningaloo marine park.



Environmental groups have slammed Shell's plans, arguing the risk of an oil spill is too great for the world heritage nominated site.



Long-running oil spills off Western Australia's northern coastline and the Gulf of Mexico in the past two years have highlighted the possible dangers for the ocean paradise and migration route for whales, dolphins, turtles and whale sharks.



About half a dozen oil and gas operations already exist within the greater Ningaloo area, some just 20km from the marine park, and with others in production.



Following a media briefing in London on Tuesday, Mr Voser said the devastating tsunami that swamped Japan last week showed that making guarantees wasn't wise.



"You can never do that," he told AAP.



"It is quite clear, you buy a car and you don't get a guarantee that you will not have an accident at one stage.



"You cannot do that.



"What we can do is over time demonstrate what standards we have and also we are not normally cutting it short in terms of what we invest.



"We do build things to last as I say, forever, and should survive earthquake or whatever you have.



"We are used to building things in constant ice in the Arctic etc, in the Gulf of Mexico with lots of hurricanes."



"... you can never rule out an incident that is quite clear but you can minimise it."



Shell has said that it was more likely to discover gas rather than oil deposits during its exploration.



Its modelling has suggested that tidal movements and water currents would cause a potential oil spill to travel away or parallel to the reef.



Federal Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson says he is determined to set up a single national offshore regulator despite the strong opposition coming from the West Australian government.



Mr Ferguson has foreshadowed increasingly rigorous requirements for Shell's plans with federal Environment Minister Tony Burke being responsible for the decision on environmental grounds.



If successful, Shell must then convince the WA government.



Mr Voser believed Shell's reputation would aid its bid for approval.



"I think our reputation as a safe, reliable partner has gone up around the world and that does help with the discussions we have with governments," he said.



West Australian Premier Colin Barnett last week said any drilling near Ningaloo would compromise the campaign for Ningaloo to be world heritage listed.