YORK, Oct 27 - US energy companies expect 2026 to mark a second consecutive year of record natural gas production, as global demand for liquefied natural gas exports and fuel to power massive data centers grows.

Three of the biggest US gas producers — Expand Energy, EQT and Range Resources — will report third-quarter earnings after the market close on Tuesday. All three companies have signaled they will spend roughly the same or less in 2026 as last year while squeezing more gas from the ground, positioning themselves to capture rising demand as new LNG export capacity and data-center power needs reshape the US energy landscape.

In a bid to retain its dominance in the US gas market, EQT, the nation's second-largest gas producer, said on Monday that it would buy Range Resources in a $13 billion all-stock deal that will create the nation's biggest gas producer.

On an annual basis, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said US gas production was on track to rise from a record 107.6 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2025 to 112.2 bcfd in 2026 and 116.1 bcfd in 2027.

"The bulk of that (growth) is coming from the Permian associated gas as well as the Haynesville," said Matthew Bernstein, vice president of North American oil and gas at energy research and consulting firm Rystad Energy. The Permian Basin spans eastern New Mexico and West Texas, while the Haynesville crosses northwest Louisiana and eastern Texas.

Bernstein said that the growth of gas production in the Permian, the nation's biggest oil-producing shale basin, was associated with rising oil production. US energy firms are pulling more oil (and gas) out of the ground to help supply fuel to the world as supply disruptions from the war in Iran have put spot US crude prices on track to hit four-year highs in 2026, according to an EIA outlook.

Total US gas demand, meanwhile, will rise from a record 116.5 bcfd in 2025 to 120.0 bcfd in 2026, according to EIA data, due primarily to a 17% spike in LNG exports. Canadian imports provide the extra gas needed to meet US demand, plus exports. One billion cubic feet is enough gas to supply about 5 million US homes for a day.

RECORD PRODUCTION COMING Expand Energy, currently the largest US gas producer, is expected to report net income of $304.3 million in the third quarter, according to LSEG estimates, up from adjusted net income of $234.0 million in the same quarter last year.

For the year, Expand said in its second-quarter earnings report in July that it planned to invest about $2.75 billion to $2.95 billion to produce about 7.4 billion to 7.6 billion cubic feet of gas equivalent per day (bcfed) in 2026. That compares with similar spending in 2025 to produce an average of 7.2 bcfed.

EQT is expected to report net income of $255.4 million in the third quarter, according to LSEG estimates, down from adjusted net income of $328.6 million in the same quarter last year.

EQT earlier this year said it reduced its 2026 maintenance capital spending guidance by $25 million to a range of $2.04 billion to $2.19 billion, and boosted its production guidance for the year by 0.25 bcfed to an average of 6.5 to 6.7 bcfed. That compares with spending of around $2.324 billion in 2025 to produce an average of 6.5 bcfed.

EQT and Range said the combined company would have over 9 bcfed of net production. The companies expect to close the transaction during the first quarter of 2027.