Kwasi Kwarteng said lifting the ban on fracking “would come at a high cost for communities and our precious countryside”.
His comments from just six months ago emerged as Liz Truss prepares to lift the ban on shale gas exploration.
The new prime minister is set to unveil the policy today as part of her plan to tackle the cost of living crisis.
The energy price cap is also set to be fixed at around £2,500 a year for households and businesses to help people cope with crippling bills.
But the plan to end the current moratorium on fracking to boost the amount of gas produced in the UK will prove controversial, given the strength of opposition in areas where it has been proposed.
Critics say the technology is bad for the environment and can cause earthquakes.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday in March, Kwarteng - a close ally of Truss and the new chancellor - dismissed suggestions that it could make a comeback.
And he rejected claims that producing shale gas in the UK would lead to smaller bills for British consumers.
The then business secretary said: “Those calling for [fracking’s] return misunderstand the situation we find ourselves in.
“If we lifted the fracking moratorium, it would take up to a decade to extract sufficient volumes - and it would come at a high cost for communities and our precious countryside.
“No amount of shale gas from hundreds of wells dotted across rural England would be enough to lower the European price any time soon.
“And with the best will in the world, private companies are not going to sell the shale gas they produce to UK consumers below the market price. They are not charities, after all.”
Just last week, former prime minister Boris Johnson clashed with Truss as he attacked the “dubious” claims of fracking supporters.
He said: “If we could frack effectively and cheaply in this country, that would be possibly a very beneficial thing. I’m just, I have to say, slightly dubious that it will prove to be a panacea.
“I would much rather that we focused on the things where we are brilliant, and where the environmental damage is really minimal.”