Bayou Jean La Croix is on an east-west oriented domal feature located approximately 45 mi (73 km) south-southwest of New Orleans. Through June 1980, it has produced 6,490,630 bbl of oil, 1,368,000 bbl of condensate, and 49.6 Bcf of gas. The producing interval extends from the Cibicides carstensi to the Robulus 5 zones (upper middle Miocene).

The origin of the structure is probably related to deep-seated salt movement. Simple closure is interrupted by numerous east-west down-to-the-south faults crossing the structure. Dip on the major faults averages 48° and throw increases slightly through the productive section. All known oil and gas reserves are found upthrown to these faults.

The productive section is a deltaic-marine sand and shale sequence typical of the south Louisiana Tertiary. By obtaining expansion indices for correlative units in the stratigraphic section enveloping the structure it is possible to graphically plot structural movement. This analysis indicates that the maximum movement occurred between Cibicides carstensi and Uvigerina 3 times. This correlates closely with the time of accumulation of the majority of the hydrocarbons in the field. Further stratigraphic study will be undertaken to determine why the field's moderate reserves are only trapped upthrown to the faulting.

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