Ineos Upstream has secured an environmental permit to drill an exploratory borehole at a site in South Yorkshire.
The 'Standard Rules' permit allows the company to carry out drilling and waste management to take core samples of the rock at Common Road, Harthill.
The Environment Agency said if the firm wishes to carry out additional activities on the site in the future, such as full well testing or hydraulic fracturing, it must submit a bespoke permit application tailored to those activities.
A spokesperson said: "Our regulatory controls for onshore oil and gas are in place to protect people and the environment. Standard Rules permits are common across industry and maintain high levels of environmental protection.
"They do not allow companies to carry out fracking – this activity requires a bespoke permit application which would be subject to a site-specific environmental risk assessment and extensive public consultation."
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