The NYMEX September gas futures contract is currently trading at $3.86/MMBtu., exactly the same as yesterday's settlement. The 12 month strip is trading at $4.23/MMBtu (Up $0.04) and next year's winter strip (Nov 11 - Mar 12) is trading at $4.24/MMBtu (Up $0.04).

            USGS Evaluates Marcellus Shale

            The USGS recently released a report estimating that the Marcellus Shale formation has 84 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas, and 3.4 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas liquids.

            In 2002, the USGS estimated that the Marcellus Shale formation contained a mere 2 trillion cubic feet of gas and 0.01 billion barrels of natural gas liquids.

            New geologic information and engineering data, in addition to technological developments are the major reasons this estimate has increased so much since 2002.