The government today proposed to free natural gas pricing as well as replace the controversial Production Sharing Contract (PSC) with simpler revenue-sharing regime for all future field auctions. In September, the government had allowed pricing freedom for the gas produced from 69 small and marginal fields it plans to auction shortly. The Oil ministry on similar lines, today proposed to provide pricing and marketing freedom for the natural gas to be produced from the areas to be awarded under the new contractual and fiscal regime, the ministry said in a circular.<br/><br/>Seeking to revive interest in oil and gas exploration by simplifying rules, the ministry today invited comments from stakeholders on a consultation paper on new fiscal and contractual regime for award of hydrocarbon acreages. International players like BP and private operators including Reliance Industries as well as state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) have been seeking pricing freedom as the current rates make new investments unviable.