Gulfport Energy Corp. is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company with its principal producing properties located along the Louisiana Gulf Coast in the West Cote Blanche Bay, or WCBB, and Hackberry fields, and in the Utica Shale in Eastern Ohio. Its operating areas include targeted exploration and exploitation in areas with known major oil resources such as Southern Louisiana and the Permian Basin. Its exploration opportunities are pursued in areas where capital investment can generate tremendous upside as shown by exploration and exploitation activities in the Canadian oil sands and natural gas exploration in northern Thailand. In addition, the company has also acquired acreage positions in the Niobrara Formation of Western Colorado and the Utica Shale of Eastern Ohio. Gulfport Energy was founded on July 11, 1997 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK.