Surrey County Council has given Oil and Gas Investments PLC planning approval to begin pre-work on the Horse Hill-1 oil discovery.
The decision enables the company to begin extended flow tests at the site, plus drill and test both a sidetrack from the existing HH-1 well and new well Horse Hill-2.
Oil and Gas Investments say they have also received approval from the Environmental Protection Agency.
The firm now wait for approval from the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA).