"The pipeline threatens a small population of Asian gray whales since it crosses diagonally across the Piltunsk lagoon which produces organisms that the animals feed on," Alexei Knizhnikov of WWF in Russia told reporters in Moscow.

Environmental watchdogs WWF, Greenpeace and the International Fund for Animal Welfare on Thursday presented the natural resources ministry with a scientific report arguing for the route to be changed.

The international consortium led by Exxon and including Russian, Japanese and Indian oil majors that is in charge of the Sakhalin-1 project "has rejected an offer to negotiate a new route," Knizhnikov said.

The environmental report said there were only around 130 Asian gray whales left, including 20 females able to reproduce. They gather in the area for four months to feed and build up the fat to survive the rest of the year.

The Russian government is expected to compile its own environmental report on the project in the weeks to come as part of the procedure for authorisation. The consortium plans to start work on the pipeline later this year.

The reserves of Sakhalin-1 are estimated at 2.3 million barrels (307 million tons) of oil and 17.1 trillion cubic feet of gas (485 billion cubic metres), the consortium's website said.

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