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 from a 10/64-in. choke with a flowing tubing pressure of 223 psi. A hydrocarbon analysis of a sample obtained from the E-1 well revealed an oil composed primarily of propane and butane with a significant part 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, delineated by seismic evidence could have provided a path of migration for the hydroca bons. 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 cuttings 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.

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