Innova Exploration, Inc. is a small independent oil and gas exploration company, located in Traverse City, Michigan, that is committed to generating high-quality, technically-oriented prospects plus project-specific consulting.
The principal and President of Innova Exploration, Inc., Ron Budros, began his career as a geologist with Continental Oil Company (CONOCO) and has developed a strong technical background in geology, geophysics and geochemistry. He is an AAPG Certified Petroleum Geologist. Although he has worked in some International plays, he has concentrated efforts in North American basins, primarily in the Appalachian and Illinois Basins but especially the Michigan Basin
Innova Exploration, Inc. was formed in 1998 from the reorganization of Lithos Exploration, Inc., a company founded by Ron Budros in Texas in 1981 which relocated to Traverse City in 1987. Innova explores primarily in the Michigan Basin. Historically, the Niagaran Reef Trend has been a primary exploration target.
The other main Innova exploration project is hydrothermal dolomite (fracture-controlled dolomite) reservoirs in the Dundee Formation and the Trenton Black River Formation. Innova Exploration, Inc., despite its size, has been an industry leader in developing sophisticated geological and seismic techniques for hydrothermal dolomite exploration. Innova’s current HTD project involves the redevelopment of the Albion-Scipio field, the only know giant oil field in Michigan, which includes a DOE funded grant, led by Battelle to conduct a pilot CO2 flood specifically designed for Trenton Black River HTD reservoirs.
In addition to prospect generation, Innova Exploration, Inc. can also be engaged for geological and geophysical consulting. Innova has been employed in a variety of capacities from identifying core areas in regional resources plays to detailed reservoir characterization studies. The integration of geology from well data with seismic data has been a critical element of many of its successful consulting projects. Ron has designed supervised acquisition and processing as well as interpreted numerous 2D and 3D seismic surveys. Innova’s work has led to successful large-scale mineral buying and leasehold projects and participated in or helped in the discovery of a number of significant Trenton Black River HTD fields and numerous successful Niagaran reef wells, both redrills/sidetracks as well as discoveries of new reefs.
