Prices were flat to mildly softer at virtually all points Thursday, but market weakness was expected to grow substantially Friday following a decidedly bearish storage report and large declines in energy futures.

Gains of slightly more than a nickel at Carthage Hub and Texas Eastern’s East Texas zone were the exceptions to quotes ranging from flat to down about 15 cents in most cases. Most drops were less than a dime, while the West tended to see most of the larger ones.

The Energy Information Administration estimated a 54 Bcf storage injection for the week ending May 6, which surpassed nearly all prior expectations. Nymex traders obviously were negative about the report, taking the natural gas screen down 17.2 cents on the day. The futures carnage was even greater over in the petroleum products complex, where June crude oil surpassed Wednesday’s $1.62 plunge on the heels of a bearish inventory report that morning with an even bigger one of $1.91 Thursday. The dive left the prompt contract at $48.54/bbl, and was accompanied by large drops in heating oil and unleaded gasoline.

The general softness in cash prices occurred despite heating load returning in the Midwest and Northeast and power generation demand remaining fairly strong across the southern tier of states due to air conditioning needs. Wind chills in the 20s and 30s were felt Thursday in parts of the Upper Midwest and northern plains, according to The Weather Channel (TWC), and a cold front that started moving into the Northeast late Wednesday was creating frost and freeze warning for Friday morning in much of the region. However, warming trends were expected to resume in both areas over the weekend.

Highs will again approach 90 degrees Friday in parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, TWC said. Similarly, Houston temperatures were forecast to peak at 88 degrees Friday. Western weather would remain cold in some northern areas, but they were where population levels are low. Otherwise, most of the West is expected to be fairly comfortable.

With the overall lack of weather load developing, a large storage injection, futures weakness and the weekend drop in industrial demand, it’s almost certain that Friday’s prices will be substantially lower than Thursday’s, one source predicted.

The ExxonMobil-operated Goldboro Gas Plant at Halifax, NS, was having problems — reportedly with its glycol operations — that substantially reduced its throughput. Goldboro is the initial onshore processing facility for Sable Offshore Energy Project (SOEP) production, which provides all M&N supplies, according to a Northeast marketer. Goldboro strips out some liquids, but ultimate processing is done at a plant further downstream, he said. Some gas is still flowing on M&N, the marketer continued, but apparently not enough for it to make Dracut deliveries until the problem is resolved.

The marketer said he was seeing a bit of heating load at Northeast citygates with freezing temperatures due in New England Thursday night.

SOEP production into M&N was cut Thursday to 245 MMcf/d, down from 400 MMcf/d previously, the project’s Alan Jeffers said. Projections for when full Goldboro throughput would return were uncertain, but fixing the problem was expected to take several days, he said.

A substantial supply shortfall in the Midcontinent ended Thursday when ANR bypassed its Custer Compressor Station in southwestern Oklahoma, allowing about 190 MMcf/d that had been shut in after a Tuesday night rupture near Custer caused damage to the station (see Transportation Notes). ANR was still trying to find out if its line or another one in the vicinity was the one that ruptured, a spokesman said Thursday afternoon.

Calgary-area weather was “pretty pleasant” with temperatures in the mid 60s, a producer said.

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