The January gas futures contract is currently trading at $3.17, $0.03 higher than it settled yesterday. By comparison, the 12 month strip is trading at $3.41/MMBtu and this year's winter strip (Jan 12 - Mar 12) is trading at $3.21/MMBtu.

Storage Update

Working gas in storage was 3,729 Bcf as of Friday, December 9, 2011, according to EIA estimates. This represents a net decline of 102 Bcf from the previous week, more than five times the decline last week. Stocks are still 154 Bcf higher than last year at this time, due in part to warmer than usual temperatures nationwide and the record-breaking storage levels achieved this summer.

EnCana Fires Back

Last week, the EPA released the preliminary results of what could be the first federal report to link the process of hydraulic fracturing to potential water contamination. The report claims to have found elevated levels of compounds commonly associated with fracking.

EnCana, the gas company whose wells were the subject of the study, has fired back claiming an extreme bias on the side of the EPA, and demanding that a neutral third party conduct their own study to deliver more accurate results.

_{Typical Natural Gas well in Wyoming, where the EPA study was conducted}

According to Eric March, senior vice president of EnCana's US division, "These preliminary results do not stand up to the rigor of a non-partisan, scientific-based review and that is of paramount importance to every natural gas-producing community."

Pipeline Safety Legislation Unanimously Passed

New pipeline safety legislation was unanimously passed in the House of Representatives on Monday, receiving overwhelming support from both political parties and numerous oil and gas companies.

The new legislation imposes some new regulations and sets civil penalties for well-known occurrences affecting pipeline safety, while blocking some potential regulations until more information can be gathered.

Tennessee Proposes 240,000 Dt/d Marcellus Shale Pipeline

Tennessee Gas Pipeline is looking to construct a 7.9 mile pipeline in Potter County, and modify four compressor stations in Northern Pennsylvania in an effort to increase transportation capacity by an estimated 240,000 Dt/d. Tennessee expects to complete the project by November 1, 2013.