EQT Corp. (EQT) CEO: Natural gas prices in the U.S. will stay below $3; production cuts next year will help

EQT Corp. (EQT) CEO Toby Rice said on Wednesday he expects U.S. natural gas prices to remain below $3/MMbtu in the near term.Rice, speaking at the Gastech energy conference, said he expects the production cuts made earlier this year by EQT and other U.S. shale producers to ease next year as demand for U.S. liquefied natural gas exports increases.The CEO also said demand for natural gas "has never been more important" to meet the needs of power plants and LNG exporters, echoing comments made earlier by Chevron Corp. (CVX) CEO Mike Wirth and others who criticized "political forces" that have hindered the development of natural gas.Also at the Gastech conference, Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) CEO Nick Dell'Osso said the U.S. natural gas market remains oversupplied and his company will "be very careful about how we change our supply picture until we see that oversupply is no longer there."Dell'Osso also said he expects the company's $7 billion acquisition of Southwestern Energy Corp. (SWN) to close in the first quarter of next year; the deal was delayed earlier this year after the Federal Trade Commission asked the two companies for more information.