Company Profile

West Bay Exploration Co., with its main office on West Grand Traverse Bay in Traverse City, was founded as a Michigan sub chapter S corporation on January 1, 1981 by Robert E. Tucker, Jr. The company’s first petroleum exploration effort was directed at the Northern Niagaran Reef Trend of Michigan. Since that time it has explored the Southern Michigan Niagaran Reef Trend, the Permian Basin of West Texas, Anadarko Basin of Oklahoma, Williston Basin of North Dakota, Illinois Basin and the Appalachian Basin.

Since 1981, West Bay Exploration Co. has produced 5.1 million barrels of oil and 34.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas from the wells it operates in Michigan. These wells have reserves of 2.8 million barrels of oil and 37 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

The technological advances in seismic acquisition, processing and interpretation of data, have enabled the company’s success ratio to grow. In the 80’s the success rate of the Northern Niagaran Reef Trend reached 30%, while the Southern Naigaran Reef Trend during the late’ 80s and 1990s soared to 78%. Recent exploration has been successful in the Ordovician Trenton play of the Albion Scipio Field.

West Bay uses the technology developed in Michigan to advance the exploration of other petroleum rich basins within the continental United States.