A coalition of environmental groups is urging the Quebec government to maintain its moratorium on drilling for oil and gas in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The St. Laurent Coalition denounced the actions of both Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador Tuesday in a dispute over resources in the area known as Old Harry, near the Magdalen Islands.

The Old Harry area is near the Magdalen Islands near Newfoundland. (CBC)Last year the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board gave a company permission to explore for oil and gas in the offshore area between the two provinces.

Experts estimate the basin could have as much as two billion barrels of recoverable oil.

But Quebec also lays claim to part of that seabed, and its politicians have called for a halt to oil industry activity in the Gulf of St. Lawrence until environmental impact studies are completed.

Quebec is also currently negotiating with the federal government to create an energy board to oversee the province's offshore drilling.

But Jean-Patrick Toussaint of the David Suzuki Foundation says Quebec is just trying to catch up with Newfoundland's hunt for resources.

The Saint-Laurent Coalition speaks at a press conference in Montreal Tuesday. (CBC)"There still needs exploratory drilling to be done to be sure if there's actually petrol or gas in there. We should not see this as a race for resources, but we should really take the time that is necessary to establish the right structures before we go ahead," said Toussaint.

Toussaint said Quebec should wait for the outcome of its own environmental assessment of the gulf to determine if drilling off the coast of the Magdalen Islands would be safe.

A spokesperson for Quebec Natural Resources minister Nathalie Normandeau said the province intends to continue with that assessment, even if it does come to an agreement with Ottawa over offshore drilling in the near future.

With files from Ainslie MacLellan