Rusty Hutson isn’t your typical gas producer. As the founder and CEO of Ala.-based Diversified Energy, he walks his own path—even one he didn’t expect to find again....

Not quite a year ago, the market growth of natural gas liquids (NGLs) was forecast to increase by $19.62 billion in five years—that, by 2028—due to their use as feedstock to produce petrochemicals and plastics, generate heat and electricity. Despite low natural gas prices, this group of hydrocarbons has become one of the most valuable among the nation’s largest energy exports alongside natural gas and crude oil and have crowned the U.S. the world’s largest exporter as worldwide demand continues to rise....