A Senate committee will today begin examining plans by petroleum giant BP to search for oil in the Great Australian Bight, off the coast of South Australia.

The company's plan is to drill wells between 1,000 and 2,500 metres deep in an area located about 395 kilometres west of Port Lincoln and 340 kilometres south-west of Ceduna.

The drilling program is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2016–2017, with each well taking between 45 and 170 days to drill.

BP plans have already faced scrutiny by the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environment Management Authority (NOPSEMA). In November 2015 it rejected BP's first application for failing to meet all of its environmental requirements.

It resubmitted its plans to NOPSEMA in March.

The Senate inquiry is set to look into the proposal's environmental and economic impacts, including on marine reserves, whales, tourism and the fishing industry.

BP said that it was looking forward to explaining why it believed the oil and gas industry could operate safely and responsibly in the Bight.

Peter Owen from South Australia's Wilderness Society is opposed to the plan.

"We consider the Great Australian Bight to be an utterly inappropriate place to be trying to turn into an oil field," he said.

"We will be highlighting the fact that this is a pristine marine environment."

The Conservation Council and the resources company Santos have also made submissions to the inquiry.

The committee is due to report its findings in May.