Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng is reported to be poised to allow lower quality gas into Britain's pipelines amid a scramble to protect the country from a looming energy crisis.
The Telegraph says he is discussing plans to ease UK gas-quality standards to make the most out of fuel available in the North Sea which would otherwise be unrecovered.
Officials are in talks about a long-term change that could take effect in coming months, although it is understood Mr Kwarteng is prepared to act under emergency powers if a faster decision is needed.
He is said to have knocked back a request last year from producer Neptune Energy to relax the rules amid pressure to preserve the Government's green agenda.
At the time, a Government source argued it was "not a supply emergency" and the move would "have no material effect on the price".
However, the invasion of Ukraine is thought to have changed the equation.
Neptune was seeking an easing of UK gas-quality standards to boost supplies from Cygnus -the country’s largest producing gas field.
Meeting 6% of UK gas demand
The find, located in the southern North Sea off the English coast, is capable of meeting 6% of UK gas demand.
The company said it could have produced 13% more gas in 12 months if it hadn't had to blend in gas from third-party fields in order to meet UK energy-content requirements.
It said a 1% reduction in the minimum energy content of gas entering the UK grid would enable direct Cygnus supplies without blending, and potentially enable new projects in the area.
The International Energy Agency has warned that countries in Europe need to prepare for a complete cut-off in Russian gas this winter, as part of reprisals by Vladimir Putin over their opposition to the war.
The UK gets little gas directly from Russia but there are concerns about a significant knock-on impact if supplies to Europe are shut down.
Worst-case scenarios modelled in Whitehall suggest up to six million homes could face power cuts if that happens.
Last week, Mr Kwarteng said the UK needed to be "prepared for any scenario - however extreme."
Extracting more gas from existing fields
He said the Government was "exploring domestic gas storage options carefully as well as "potential regulatory options to extract more gas from existing fields".
Producers estimate that, if rules are relaxed over the long term, they could unlock 0.5 trillion cubic feet of gas from the southern North Sea.
A spokesman for the UK's Business Department told the Telegraph: "We are committed to bolstering our energy security and are naturally exploring how our domestic gas fields can help deliver this alongside our substantial support for renewables and nuclear energy to deliver affordable home-grown energy."