An article published in the Wheeling News-Register over the weekend highlighted a number of interstate natural gas pipeline projects proposed for our region currently under review by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Surging natural gas production in the Marcellus and Utica Shale regions has put increasing constraints on existing infrastructure, leaving many key markets in the area unable to tap into this clean-burning domestic resource. According to the article, the projects currently under review would deliver the additional capacity necessary to meet these changing market dynamics.
Included in the more than $15 billion in proposed pipeline infrastructure is the Rover pipeline, which when constructed would deliver natural gas from Pennsylvania and West Virginia to markets in Ohio and Michigan.
“In a time of sluggish growth and poor workforce participation rates, the Rover Pipeline project will bring thousands of jobs to our state – and about 10,000 to our region overall – as well as inject more than $4 billion into the regional economy,” wrote Corky DeMarco, executive director of the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association, in a letter to FERC last month.
In a separate letter, West Virginia Senate Majority Leader Mitch Carmichael said he understands the role FERC plays in reviewing these projects, but urged the agency “to do so quickly and thoroughly so West Virginia can begin to reap the benefits of our natural resources.”
Read the complete article in the Wheeling News-Register here.