The Department of Energy just released the results of an independent study touting the economic benefits of exporting U.S. natural gas. While many manufacturers are against exporting because it will drive the price of gas up, a higher gas price may mean that U.S. producers like ExxonMobil (XOM -0.36%) and Chesapeake Energy (CHKA.Q) actually could start making money on this stuff again. In this video, energy analyst Aimee Duffy reviews the performance of natural gas prices over the past two years, and lists the top five U.S. producers in the third quarter.