A 1982 Wilcox oil discovery in southeastern Louisiana constituted one of the more significant onshore United States discoveries for the year and illuminated a new oil trend. Prior to this discovery, Lockhart Crossing field was known for its gas and condensate production from Cretaceous lower Tuscaloosa sandstones at depths of 17,000-18,000 ft (5,200-5,500 m). Oil production from sandstones of the lower Eocene of the uppermost Wilcox Group was recently established at 10,000 ft (3,000 m) with successful completion (630 BOPD), of the Callon 1 Reed Erickson. To date, 30 producers and 5 dry holes have been drilled in the field, with production peaking at 10,000 BOPD and recoverable reserves of 15-20 million bbl of oil after secondary recovery.

The main field reservoir is a 40-80 ft (12-24 m) marine sandstone with two distinct facies present. The most dominant of these two facies is a coarsening-upward sequence of very fine to fine-grained glauconitic sand deposited as a nearshore bar. The second is a tidal channel facies with a fining-upward sequence of medium to very fine grained sand. The spatial relationship of these two facies defines a progradational sequence of tidal channels overstepping and eroding into existing nearshore bars. The primary trapping mechanism, however, is structural in the form of a rollover anticline.

In April 1983, Callon and Amoco extended the trend southeast with the discovery of Livingston field. Chances are good that this new trend will yield additional discoveries with continued exploration.

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