The government is planning to more than double the price of natural gas produced by Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) to $4.20 per million metric British thermal unit (mmBtu) in a move that will help the state-run firm break even in gas business.

The oil ministry is likely to move a cabinet note next month for raising price of the gas, produced by ONGC and Oil India Ltd from fields given to them on nomination basis (called APM gas), to rates equivalent to that produced from Reliance Industries? KG-D6 fields, agencies reported on Monday quoting official sources.

When contacted by FE, petroleum and natural gas minister Murli Deora declined to confirm or deny the development.

The move follows, the finance ministry?s insistence that any hike in APM gas price should be in one stage and not in phases as was previously proposed by the oil ministry.

The oil ministry had earlier proposed raising APM gas price from $ 1.79 per million British thermal unit to $4.20 per mmBtu in phases over the next three years.