Cuadrilla said it was close to starting drilling two exploratory bores near Balcombe
Energy company Cuadrilla is making final preparations before it begins drilling for oil after being held up by protesters at a site in West Sussex.
Balcombe Parish Council said on its website it expected drilling to begin on Friday morning. The company said it was still testing the equipment.
Protesters gathered outside the site, near Balcombe, for the ninth day.
Six people were arrested on Thursday after protesters blocked the site entrance with an antique fire engine.
Cuadrilla spokesman Matt Lambert said the company had made very good progress with getting lorries delivering drilling equipment on to the woodland site.
"We have had a significant amount of disruption from protesters and the police have been dealing with that in the proper way," he said.
Bianca Jagger urged people across the UK to join the protesters at Balcombe
"They have a perfect right to make their point of view known.
"But we are getting through it and we are quite close to the point of making progress towards drilling."
A total of 31 people have been arrested, including the daughter of Kinks star Ray Davies and Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde.
Natalie Hynde, 30, glued herself to her boyfriend, veteran environmental activist Simon "Sitting Bull" Medhurst, 55, to form a "human lock" at the site entrance on Wednesday.
On Tuesday human rights activist Bianca Jagger called on people across the UK to join protesters, who fear the tests will lead to hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
One campaigner, Miranda, from Cuckfield, said on Friday she had been at the protest every day to show some local support.
"They are here fighting for our local community," she said.
Simon "Sitting Bull" Medhurst (left) & Natalie Hynde were arrested after gluing themselves together
"A lot of people do not want this here or anywhere in the UK for that matter."
Cuadrilla has said it would need fresh permission to carry out fracking.
Chief executive Francis Egan said he did not think the community would be disrupted once drilling began.
"The community should not really notice much activity at all unless they want to walk down to the site and see it," he said.
"There will not be a lot of noise.
"The testing does involve some flaring if there is gas but we are not expecting to find gas."
Source: BBC News - Business http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-23547861#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
