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The Gas Research Institute (GRI) and the Electric Power ResearchInstitute (EPRI) are forming a partnership, called Global EnergyPartners, with engineering/large project management firm DMJM tooffer program management services to public agencies that fundpublic-benefit energy programs aimed at promoting energyefficiency.

Stone & Webster and Sonat Marketing Company L.P., haveannounced they are forming a 50/50 joint venture to provide largecustomers with a variety of bundled energy management services,including building or upgrading power and steam generationequipment, commodity supply, portfolio and risk management,metering, billing, operations and maintenance, as well as selectedasset ownership.

The futures market continued to trade sideways to finish out theweek on Friday despite the large bearish sentiment, underpinned byfundamentals, that continues to dominant the market. The Septembercontract may have slipped only slightly to settle at $1.947, but itwas not for a lack of trying. Friday produced very choppy tradingthat had the prompt month bouncing between the $1.90 and $2.00.

Geographic price tendencies shifted going into the weekend.Western markets, which had been resisting the week’s overallsoftness earlier due to heavy cooling load andsupply/transportation problems, were being routed Friday,particularly at the California border. Meanwhile Eastern pricesfell by a nickel or less in most cases, with Appalachian pipes andNortheast/Midwest citygates flat or close to it.

Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt yesterday announced plans tore-open a large federal reserve site in northern Alaska to oil andnatural gas exploration.

NorAm Energy Services (NES) won a large three-year assetmanagement contract with Owensboro, KY-based Western Kentucky GasCo., effective July 1. The deal includes gas supply,transportation, storage, and city gate delivery asset managementservices. The Kentucky gas distributor, a division of Dallas basedAtmos Energy, serves 180,000 customers.

The July Nymex contract gained 2.8 cents to settle Monday at$2.364, thanks in large measure to momentum the contract gainedafter it filled in the technical chart gap with its early move downto $2.295. However, the upside was capped by resistance at $2.43,and July settled right in the middle of its technical tradingrange. “July trading is pretty much in cruise control now,” asource said. “A lot of people have already gotten out of theirpositions, so I think you’ll see the rangebound trading continue[today]. However, that range is 15 cents, so trading will mostlikely be volatile, which will be the first time in months acontract has expired with a good dose of volatility,” he told GPI.

PG&E Energy Service continued to amass a large collection ofretail supply and services contracts yesterday, adding Lucky Storesand American Drug Stores to a list that includes Safewaysupermarkets, Rite-Aid drug stores, McDonald’s restaurants,Blockbuster stores, ARCO gas stations Neiman-Marcus departmentstores and IBM.

The recent tightening of Henry Hub-New York basis can beattributed to a number of factors: the large amounts of capacitybeing turned back to the pipelines, high inventory levels,competitive residual fuel oil prices and new liquefied natural gasprojects, according to a prominent energy trader.