Last week, spot natural gas prices at the Waha Hub in the Permian Basin of West Texas, which accounts for about a quarter of U.S. natural gas production, briefly fell to -$9.75 per million British thermal units. The U.S.-Iran conflict has led local drilling companies to increase oil production, which in turn has boosted natural gas output. However, due to infrastructure constraints, localized oversupply of natural gas has forced producers to flare excess capacity.