U.S. natural gas demand and prices are “off to the races,” driven by a convergence of supply and demand-related factors as the world emerges from Covid-19, IHS Markit’s Jack Weixel, senior director, said Monday.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to the global market, pipeline exports to Mexico and capital discipline by upstream producers all have contributed to a “whiplash” in prices from below $2.00/MMBtu in late 2020 to current prices well above $3.00, Weixel told the LDC Gas Forums Northeast Forum in Boston.

Publicly traded exploration and production (E&P) firms largely “are sticking to their capex guns, meaning that they are actually constraining their drilling response,” Weixel told the in-person gathering. This restraint is reflected in rig counts as well...