An energy firm involved in the mass-oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has reportedly been lined up as a potential fracking contractor in Sussex.

American oil giant Halliburton, previously run by former US Vice President Dick Cheney, held talks with British energy firm Celtique Energie about sub-contracting at various potential fracking sites in Sussex, according to a report in The Independent.

Internal company documents, which relate to a meeting of Celtique Energie’s board of directors in September 2011, reveal an internal debate about how high-profile it wanted its involvement in exploratory drilling to become.

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According to The Independent, the briefing paper read: “Do Celtique stay below the parapet on UK unconventional while permitting Weald conventional or do we join the debate now?

“Halliburton farm-in to Weald unconventional may force this issue early.”

Celtique Energie recently submitted a planning application to West Sussex County Council to construct a temporary well close to Wisborough Green, near Horsham, and could submit an application for a second site near Fernhurst, near Chichester.

The sites would follow the high-profile fracking sites in Balcombe, where energy company Cuadrilla has been exploratory drilling for oil and shale gas despite mass protests since August.

Halliburton is no stranger to controversy, having been involved in the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico – known as the Deepwater Horizon explosion – in 2010.

It subsequently pleaded guilty to destroying evidence relating to the disaster and was fined £120,000.

In 2009 the firm was the operating sub-contractor on a fracking site in Pennsylvania, USA, where nearly 8,000 gallons of water and a lubricating gel known as ‘LGC 35 CMB’ spilt into a river.

Halliburton reportedly declined to comment to The Independent on its talks with Celtique, saying the company “cannot comment on discussions about potential co-operation agreements”.

However, in a statement in The Independent, Celtique Energie said: “Celtique has had discussions with a number of energy companies and service providers as per standard commercial practice.

"However no farm-outs are currently under discussion with any party and no drilling or associated service company contractors have currently been appointed.”