Ohio Fracking Contract Fight May Hinge on Utica Shale Definition

A closely-watched case centering on a multimillion-dollar hydraulic fracturing deal in Ohio turns on how eight words in a drilling contract are interpreted, attorneys on both sides of a contract dispute told the state Supreme Court Tuesday.

Gulfport Energy Corp. and a subsidiary of Rice Energy Inc. say the phrase “the formation commonly known as the Utica Shale”—which appears in a contract reached with a landowner in rural Belmont County, along the Ohio-West Virginia border—was known to include the Point Pleasant formation below Utica’s base.

This gives the companies permission to conduct drilling for hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as “fracking,” ...