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Ohio Oil And Gas Litigation In The New Fracking Era, Blake A. Watson Prof.

Blake A Watson Prof.

Horizontal fracking has substantially changed oil and gas drilling in eastern Ohio. Part I of this article summarizes recent decisions concerning the state’s regulation of oil and gas drilling and production. Part II looks at prior and pending cases raising tort issues such as trespass, negligence, nuisance, and strict liability. Part III describes a variety of actions seeking to invalidate, terminate, interpret, and enforce leases.

Ohio Oil And Gas Litigation In The New Fracking Era, Blake Watson

School of Law Faculty Publications

There is a new era of oil and gas exploration in Ohio: the horizontal “fracking” era. Although the hydraulic fracturing process has been utilized for decades, the recent development of horizontal drilling methods has enabled companies to extract oil and gas from the Marcellus and Utica deep shale formations. Horizontal hydraulic fracturing has substantially changed oil and gas drilling in eastern Ohio, as evident by the following statements taken from a complaint filed by landowners in Columbiana County:

From 2008 through 2010, few Columbiana County landowners understood the significance of the Utica shale play. ... [M]any landowners enter[ed] into oil …