EQT Corporation (EQT.US) CEO: Natural gas prices in the US will remain below $3, and production cuts next year will help ease the situation.

EQT Corporation (EQT.US) CEO Toby Rice said on Wednesday that he expects natural gas prices in the United States to remain below $3 per million British thermal units in the short term. Due to prices hitting multi-year lows, EQT reduced production by 1 billion cubic feet per day earlier this year, and competitors of several US shale gas producers also reduced drilling to deal with oversupply. However, Rice said at the Gastech energy conference that he expects the production cuts to ease next year as demand for US liquefied natural gas exports increases. The CEO also said that demand for natural gas is "never been more important" to meet the needs of power plants and liquefied natural gas exporters, echoing earlier comments by Chevron Corporation (CVX.US) CEO Mike Wirth and others criticizing the "political forces" hindering natural gas development. Also at the Gastech conference, Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK.US) CEO Nick Dell'Osso said the US natural gas market is still oversupplied, and his company will "very cautiously consider how to change our supply situation until we see the oversupply situation no longer exists." Dell'Osso also said he expects Chesapeake Energy Corporation's $7 billion acquisition of US Southwestern Energy Company (SWN.US) to be completed in early fourth quarter; earlier this year, the deal was delayed after the Federal Trade Commission asked for more information from the two companies.