During

The July contract slipped ever-so-slightly yesterday during aquiet trading session as many traders elected to remain on thesidelines in anticipation of the AGA’s weekly storage report. Julywas limited to a tight nickel range settling down 0.8 cents to$1.93. Estimated volume was 47,000.

Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania’s supplier-choice program savedparticipating customers in Washington and Allegheny counties about$1.8 million during the 1997-98 winter heating season, the companysaid. Paula Frauen, manager of energy services, said the 37,000residential and small commercial customers enrolled in the programeach saved about $9 a month, 8.6% less than what they would havepaid had they bought gas from Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania.

Lack of activity was the popular excuse for the mostly stagnantprice levels during Monday’s cash market trading session. Mostsources agreed that moderating temperatures along with aslow-moving Nymex screen were to blame. With the exception of theRockies and intra-Alberta gas, which registered the only notabledeclines of the day, cash prices generally started the new weekflat to up or down a penny or two across the board.

Most of the additions to natural gas and crude oil reservesduring the past decade have come from existing fields rather thanfrom new discoveries, and the trend is likely to continue well intothe future, according to a new study issued by the Gas ResearchInstitute (GRI) yesterday.