Natural gas prices have been climbing, and traders are betting that the rally isn’t over. With hedge funds holding their largest bullish position in U.S. gas markets since 2017 and global storage levels running low, the prospect of gas reaching $6/MMBtu is becoming more plausible. But if prices surge, what happens next? Will higher prices accelerate the push to capture and transport more gas to the Gulf Coast for LNG exports, or will pipeline constraints and infrastructure bottlenecks force producers to keep flaring? The balance between gas monetization, flaring reductions, and midstream capacity is shifting, and the industry is at a crossroads. If the market tightens further, the decision to either waste gas or commercialize it could shape the future of U.S. energy strategy in ways we haven’t seen before.