Occurrence of high gravity oil in an Oligocene Vicksburg age sandstone in Jim Hogg County, Texas
On October 1, 1979 the Guardian Oil Co. E-1 Mestena oil and gas well was completed in an Oligocene, Vicksburg sandstone. The initial potential was 245 BOPD of 75 API gravity oil. A hydrocarbon analysis of a sample obtained from the E-1 well revealed an oil composed primarily of propane and butane with a significant portion of pentane to heptane range material which accounts for the exceptionally high gravity of the liquid hydrocarbons. This analysis further showed that the E-1 well is producing almost no methane, ethane, or other hydrocarbons of greater molecular weight than nonane. Several faults, adjacent to the well, could have provided a path of migration for the hydrocarbons. A detailed analysis of the butane to heptane fluid produced by the E-1 well indicated the fluid contained a large amount of compounds characteristic of an immature crude. Coal fragments present in the cutting from a nearby well and the regional geology of the Vicksburg Formation suggest that one possible source for the hydrocarbons of the E-1 well could have been lipid rich Cannel-type coal.
- OSTI ID:
- 6296384
- Journal Information:
- Trans., Gulf Coast Assoc. Geol. Soc.; (United States), Journal Name: Trans., Gulf Coast Assoc. Geol. Soc.; (United States) Vol. 30; ISSN TGCGA
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Oligocene Vicksburg sandstones of TCB field - a south Texas diagenetic Jambalaya
Petroleum geology of the Vicksburg Formation, Texas
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