Cheniere Energy’s Corpus Christi-area liquefied natural gas facility, which the company is in the process of expanding.WASHINGTON - U.S. natural gas companies are readying to increase production to near record levels this winter, with prices near their highest level in 14 years,The trade group, which represents the bulk of the nation's gas producers, forecast production would average 104 billion cubic feet per day this winter, a 4 percent increase from last year.
The forecast comes as natural gas is selling for almost $7 per million British Thermal Units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. While down from highs of more than $9 this summer, it is more than twice whatThat has driven concern among policy makers, with theDriving the increase in prices in part is a U.S. gas market increasingly tied to global commodity prices, as LNG companies ship U.S. gas abroad to take advantage of markedly higher prices in Europe and Asia.