Oil and gas exploration in Ohio can be traced back to 1814, when Silas Thorla and Robert McKee drilled a well in search of salt brine in Noble County. Along with finding salt, Thorla and McKee accidentally discovered oil and natural gas (Noble County Department of Tourism, 2004). In 1943 an article published by E. Willard Miller in The Ohio Journal of Science noted, “Next to Pennsylvania, southeastern Ohio is the oldest oil producing region in the United States. However, never in its history has it been a large producer, and for the past forty years production has been gradually declining”(Miller, 1943). Nonetheless, nearly 70 years later a more sophisticated understanding of Ohio’s geology and significant technological advancements in well drilling processes have positioned Ohio as a major producer of oil and gas.