Boris Johnson has told MPs that he will seek a high-level meeting with energy bosses with a view to bringing more oil and gas to the market.
The Prime Minister clashed with Sir Keir Starmer in the House of Commons yesterday over the issue of a windfall tax on rising energy sector profits.
The Labour leader repeated calls for those "with an unexpected windfall" to pay more to keep rising household bills down.
However, Mr Johnson said any such move to "clobber" firms with a new tax would be "totally ridiculous" and raise prices for consumers.
Bringing more oil and gas to market
Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown later suggested that instead of a windfall tax, the government should pursue an alternative strategy to increase energy supply.
He called for the Prime Minister to "summon a high-level meeting with the oil and gas companies with the aim of a voluntary agreement to bring more oil and gas on to the wholesale market to reduce oil and gas prices to help hard-pressed people deal with the cost of living problems".
Responding, Mr Johnson said: "The oil and gas companies create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the UK, and they are very important to our economy. I will do what I can to take forward his request for a meeting with them."
Windfall tax row continues
The question of whether North Sea firms should pay a windfall tax continued to dominate debate at both Westminster and Holyrood yesterday.
Labour pushed for a vote on the measure in the House of Commons last week, but saw their motion voted down - with SNP MPs abstaining after North-east representatives warned the move could be detrimental to jobs.
However, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has now voiced tentative support for the idea, saying that "the UK government should be looking at options like this".
She told the BBC that any proposal would need to be "fair", and that "we don't want to see the North-east of Scotland bearing the brunt of what we need to do to deal with the cost of living crisis".
Her view is that any consideration of windfall taxes should go wider and look other firms that are making increased profits at a time when ordinary people are struggling.
New fields 'factored in' to net zero plans
Meanwhile, Energy Minister Greig Hands confirmed that six fields which look set to be fired up have already been factored into the UK's net zero strategy and upcoming carbon budgets.
Green MP Caroline Lucas brought forward an urgent question on reports that six oil and gas areas, which have already been given a preliminary licence by ministers, are expected to be given approval by Britain’s oil and gas regulator to begin construction of rigs.
Ms Lucas said that "the idea that the solution to an energy crisis caused by high gas prices is to increase our reliance on gas seems pretty risible".
Mr Hands said the government was committed to securing greater domestic supply while pursing an energy transition.
"The way we produce oil and gas is cleaner than in many jurisdictions, so it would be illogical to import them at further expense to Britain and our planet," he said.