The December gas futures contract is currently trading at $3.84, $0.09 higher than it settled yesterday. The 12 month strip is trading at $4.02/MMBtu and this year's winter strip (Dec 11 - Mar 12) is trading at $3.93/MMBtu. 

Fracking Update

A recent study by the German deep-drilling research firm Q-Con on the potential for hydraulic fracturing to cause seismic activity has shown that while such occurrences are possible, the likelihood is extremely low.

The report also concluded that if seismic activity was to occur as a result of hydraulic fracturing, the magnitude of the earthquake would never exceed 3 on the Richter scale.

This issue is more of a problem in the UK, where the shale is under much more stress than it is in the Marcellus or Utica shale.

Weather

Much of the Mid-West is expected to have warmer than average temperatures throughout November, and the West Coast will be slightly colder than average.

Western New York is expected to have average temperatures (High of 48°F and Low of 34°F) for November, with colder than average temperatures expected for the winter.

Storage

Working gas in storage was 3,794 Bcf as of Friday, October 28, 2011. This indicates a net increase of 78 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 17 Bcf less than last year at this time and 201 Bcf above the five year average.

Demonstrated peak working gas storage capacity is a conservative measure of how much natural gas can be stored. As of April 2011, the demonstrated peak storage capacity was 4,103 Bcf, leaving 309 Bcf of currently available storage space.