The announcement Tuesday of the creation of a new compressor station in Wetzel County is a needed component in the local natural gas boom and a welcome addition to our local economy.

While the Dominion project is not expected to produce many full-time jobs, it will facilitate the transportation of the area’s newfound coal bed methane and Marcellus shale gas to markets in the eastern United States.

Without a way to get the natural resource to needed users, the results of the local gas activity are virtually worthless. This entire Appalachian Gateway Project, when finished, is expected to deliver 484,260 dekatherms of natural gas per day. If our math is correct, at the current well head price of $4.89 per Mcf, that line would transport almost $23,000 worth of gas per day or $839 million per year. That’s no small project.