UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak is reported to be considering measures previously introduced by George Osborne and Margaret Thatcher to impose a windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas producers.
The Times says he is examining a temporary levy introduced by Mr Osborne after the 2008 recession amid an ongoing cabinet row over the "unconservative" policy.
But a fresh scheme for a windfall tax could also include a “sweetener” of extra decommissioning tax reliefs for energy companies to encourage more investment in green technology.
More than seven in 10 Tory voters support a windfall tax to ease the cost-of-living crisis, a new poll has shown.
At the weekend Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the International Trade Secretary, became the latest cabinet member to publicly state their opposition to a windfall tax, joining Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, and Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland Secretary.
She said: "I don't think a windfall tax is the most efficient way to do anything. The windfall tax in and of itself is a very short-term measure."
However, despite personal misgivings, Mr Sunak is now said to be exploring ways to claw back increased profits from oil and gas producers after the price of hydrocarbons soared in recent months.
The Times reports that the Treasury is now looking at the mechanisms used by Mr Osborne and Mrs Thatcher to impose a temporary tax.
In 2011, Mr Osborne increased the supplementary charge paid by energy companies from 20 to 32%.
The supplementary charge is an additional levy for oil and gas companies on top of Corporation Tax.
The Times reports that, when Mr Osborne increased the rate, he also introduced fresh tax reliefs for oil and gas companies to spend on decommissioning, and a similar model to encourage investment in green technologies could feature as part of Mr Sunak's scheme.
In 2016, Mr Osborne reduced the supplementary charge back to 10%, where it remains now, but Mr Sunak is looking at plans to temporarily raise it again. In the 1980s, Mrs Thatcher imposed a tax on North Sea oil and gas, which raised £2.4billion.
Boris Johnson has been reluctant to endorse a windfall tax, which was originally proposed by Labour in January.
Meanwhile, the chief executive of trade body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) will warn in Aberdeen tomorrow that hundreds of billions of pounds of investments aimed at building the UK's net zero energy infrastructure could be diverted to other countries if politicians keep threatening to impose a windfall tax.
Up to £250billion has been set aside by energy companies to build offshore wind farms, hydrogen production plants and carbon-capture facilities, plus maintaining oil and gas supplies.
But OEUK leader Deirdre Michie will say at the trade group's annual conference that a windfall tax could undermine such plans.
She is to state that extra tax would not just damage profits of oil and gas producers, but also drive up the cost of borrowing money for new projects - making them more expensive and, in some cases, unviable.
Ms Michie will also highlight that a fresh levy would undermine investor confidence to the extent that investment would be moved to projects in other parts of the world.