A controversial power company could begin drilling for oil in West Sussex as early as next month.

Cuadrilla has announced plans to dig a fracking exploration well near the Balcombe aqueduct this summer.

One campaigner said protesters were likely to try and disrupt the work “by any means possible”.

Fracking involves blasting water and sand at high pressure deep underground to cause mini-explosions which release shale gas.

Moves by the same company to exploit the unconventional fuel in Lancashire were put on hold after hydraulic fracturing caused two small earthquakes in 2011.

However Cuadrilla, has assured Balcombe Parish Council that it will not be using fracking at this stage.

Instead, the company plans to drill and take samples of the underground rock in a vertical well 3,000 feet deep.

If oil or gas is discovered, it will only be allowed to flow "for a short time", the company said.

The work is expected to take no longer than four months, with planning permission set to expire in September.

A report by Balcombe Parish Council said: “BPC asked for, and was given, an unequivocal assurance that current plans do not involve any fracking on the site.”

The authority said it made it categorically clear to Cuadrilla that it was committed to opposing the use of fracking after a poll of village residents showed them to be overwhelmingly against the process.

If Cuadrilla finds oil or gas, a series of “extensive technical, environmental and public consultations” would take place before any further decisions are made.

Vanessa Vine, a campaigner from Frack Free Sussex, said the company was “trying to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes”.

She said: “We don’t want them anywhere near our village or anywhere else.

“When this process starts, campaigners will try to disrupt it by any means possible.

"If they find anything, they'll frack it. They're not just drilling for fun."

Francis Egan, Cuadrilla’s chief executive, said: “Although this summer’s work will be unobtrusive, we’re fully aware that local people will have many questions about our plans and we’ll do our best to answer all of them.

“During the coming months, we will discuss our plans with residents and they will be able to visit the site to see for themselves what our work involves.”