April 30 (Reuters) - U.S. energy company Expand Energy ( EXE )

, the country's

biggest natural gas producer, said on Wednesday it was on track

to produce more gas in 2025 and 2026 to meet growing demand for

the fuel.

Expand executives told analysts on its first quarter

earnings call it expected to run about 12 rigs and invest about

$2.7 billion to produce around 7.1 billion cubic feet of gas

equivalent per day in 2025. That is the same as what the company

said in its fourth quarter earnings in February.