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With sellers content with last week’s 50-cent price erosion, and bulls desperately clinging to the last vestiges of support, natural gas futures marked time Friday, with prices moving quietly sideways on mostly unchanged fundamental and technical factors.

Enron Broadband Services Content Systems LLC has signed a long-term agreement with EBWorld.com and Into Networks Inc. to deliver games on demand, the first application to launch as part of a strategic alliance between the companies. The service is scheduled to begin June 1. EBWorld.com is a subsidiary of Electronic Boutique Holdings Corp. of West Chester, PA, which operates 740 stories in 46 states and around the world. Into Networks, headquartered in Cambridge, MA, is licensing its technology to Electronics Boutique, and Enron will provide strategic, financial and operational services to Into to offer broadband customers secure access to software on a rental basis. The alliance is attempting to optimize and increase delivery of streaming applications over broadband connections using software on demand technology.

Transco reported receiving gas with “slightly higher heating content in its mainline over the past week and feels this is the result of processing plants scaling back their operations due to poor economics.” It reminded producers and shippers on its system to ensure that processing arrangements are in place that will allow receipts to meet the pipeline’s merchantability requirements. Those specifications were outlined in a notice that was most recently reposted on July 27, 2001, Transco said.

In the midst of a blizzard of retail energy cost rate adjustments throughout the western states, Las Vegas, NV-based Southwest Gas Corp., provides an exception, facing the winter with lower retail rates and confidence that its supply/price situation will remain relatively stable, although it is keeping a wary eye on Enron’s supply deals with some of its largest customers, a spokesperson said Friday.

Transco said maintenance is scheduled for the Mobile Bay Gas Processing Plant from Sunday through Tuesday. The overall Btu content of gas on Transco’s system downstream of the plant may increase temporarily during this period.

Enron Broadband Services Content Systems LLC has signed along-term agreement with EBWorld.com and Into Networks Inc. todeliver games on demand, the first application to launch as part ofa strategic alliance between the companies. The service isscheduled to begin June 1. EBWorld.com is a subsidiary ofElectronic Boutique Holdings Corp. of West Chester, PA, whichoperates 740 stories in 46 states and around the world. IntoNetworks, headquartered in Cambridge, MA, is licensing itstechnology to Electronics Boutique, and Enron will providestrategic, financial and operational services to Into to offerbroadband customers secure access to software on a rental basis.The alliance is attempting to optimize and increase delivery ofstreaming applications over broadband connections using software ondemand technology.

After watching prices tumble 10% last week, bears in the naturalgas pit were content to cool their heels Friday in an amazinglyquiet trading session. The November contract slumped just 1.4 centsto close at $4.937 Friday after trading within a tight, 13-centtrading range. Estimated volume was light, with just 63,929contracts changing hands.

Not content to converge just with electricity, the gas industryis turning to telecommunications. Specifically, pipelines arefinding their rights of way make sense for the routing offiber-optic telecommunications cable.

Arthur Andersen launched the KnowledgeSpace Energy Community, arevised and enhanced premium community developed for the energyindustry. By supplementing oil and gas content with information andresources specifically for the utility industry, the EnergyCommunity replaces the Oil & Gas Community in KnowledgeSpace,Arthur Andersen’s gateway to online business information, tools andresources.