A regulator charged with vetting plans for offshore Australia said it wasn't satisfied with an environmental plan submitted by British energy company BP.

An Australian subsidiary of BP submitted an environmental plan in October to start an exploration program in an offshore area called the Great Australian Bight. Vetting the proposal, the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environment Management Authority said the British company did not make the grade in meeting all regulatory requirements.

"After a thorough and rigorous assessment, NOPSEMA has determined that the environment plan does not yet meet the criteria for acceptance under the environment regulations, and has advised BP of this decision," the regulator said in a statement.

The British company wrapped up a seismic survey program in early 2012 that was meant to give it a better understanding of the reserve potential offshore. BP said it wanted to drill four exploration wells in the area to determine if there were commercial quantities of oil and natural gas in the area.

The area under review is in deep Australian waters, which the petroleum regulator said had sparked considerable interest from advocates wary of BP's track record for offshore drilling.

Peter Owen, the south Australia director for advocacy group Wilderness Society, said it appears the British energy company learned nothing from its experience in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon tragedy off the U.S. coast.

"After its Gulf of Mexico disaster, you would think BP would be at pains to demonstrate that it is going well above and beyond regulatory requirements to ensure its safety and environmental plans are the new standard of global best practice," he said in a statement. "That is clearly not the case."

There was no public statement from BP on the permit refusal. The company is allowed to submit a modified plan to the drilling authority.