straga/iStock via Getty Images EQT (NYSE:EQT) CEO Toby Rice said on Wednesday that he expects prices for U.S. natural gas will remain below $3/MMBtu in the short term. EQT (EQT) reduced 1B cf/day of output earlier this year as prices sank to multi-year lows, and several rival U.S. shale gas producers also cut drilling to combat overproduction, but Rice told the Gastech energy conference that he expects production curtailments will ease by next year as demand increases for U.S. liquefied natural gas exports. The CEO also said demand for natural gas to meet demand from power plants and LNG exporters \"has never been more important,\" and echoing earlier comments from Chevron CEO Mike Wirth and others, he criticized \"political forces\" he said are hampering gas development. Also at the Gastech conference, Chesapeake Energy (CHK) CEO Nick Dell'Osso said the U.S. natural gas market remains oversupplied, and his company will be \"pretty cautious with how we think about changing our supply picture until we see that [oversupply] is no longer the case.\" Del'Osso also said he expects Chesapeake's (CHK) $7B acquisition of Southwestern Energy (SWN) will close early in Q4; the deal was delayed earlier this year after the Federal Trade Commission requested additional information from the companies.