Note 4 — Inventories

Inventories comprise the following:



	December 31, 2017		September 30, 2017		December 31, 2016
Gas Utility natural gas	$	34,587	$	39,486	$	25,777
Materials, supplies and other	15,130		13,823		13,916
Total inventories	$	49,717	$	53,309	$	39,693

At December 31, 2017, UGI Utilities was a party to five principal storage contract administrative agreements (“SCAAs”) which have terms of up to three years. Four of the SCAAs were with UGI Energy Services, LLC (“Energy Services”), a second-tier, wholly owned subsidiary of UGI (see Note 13) and one of the SCAAs was with a non-affiliate. Pursuant to SCAAs, UGI Utilities has, among other things, released certain storage and transportation contracts for the terms of the SCAAs. UGI Utilities also transferred certain associated storage inventories upon commencement of the SCAAs, will receive a transfer of storage inventories at the end of the SCAAs, and makes payments associated with refilling storage inventories during the terms of the SCAAs. The historical cost of natural gas storage inventories released under the SCAAs, which represents a portion of Gas Utility’s total natural gas storage inventories, and any exchange receivable (representing amounts of natural gas inventories used by the other parties to the agreement but not yet replenished for which UGI Utilities has the rights), are included in the caption “Gas Utility natural gas” in the table above.

The carrying values of gas storage inventories released under the SCAAs at December 31, 2017, September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, comprising 7.8 billion cubic feet (“bcf”), 9.1 bcf and 7.8 bcf of natural gas, were $22,191, $26,064 and $17,700, respectively. At December 31, 2017, September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, UGI Utilities held a total of $13,840, $15,040 and $15,000, respectively, of security deposits received from its SCAA counterparties. These amounts are included in “Other current liabilities” on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

For additional information related to the SCAAs with Energy Services, see Note 13.