Livingston Pad Update: It is currently estimated that the process of flowback on the Livingston Pad will begin approximately 30 days from now, sometime between the first and third week of April.
It is currently estimated that the process of flowback on the Livingston Pad will begin approximately 30 days from now, sometime between the first and third week of April. Flowback is a term used to indicate the initial process of production when the primary fluid coming from the recently completed wells is water. Although most of the fluid is water, all fluids (oil, gas, and water) will be sent through the production facility where it is separated and sent to the central gathering facility via pipeline. Emissions from this operation may occur and Broomfield’s Air Quality Monitoring Program includes two sensors in place near the Livingston Pad to track emissions, with additional sensors being added as soon as possible. Every effort is being made to have two other stationary monitoring stations in place to monitor emissions at Soaring Eagle Park in Anthem Highlands and on Broomfield Open Space.
Currently, Extraction is performing mill out of the 18 wells that have been drilled at the Livingston Pad. Mill out is a process of entering the wellbore with a coiled tubing unit to mill out the plugs set between zones during the hydraulic fracturing phase. Once mill out is completed on all 18 wells, production tubing (the process of installation of production tubing within the borehole) will begin via a workover rig. After production tubing is installed the flowback process will begin. It is estimated that flowback on the Livingston Pad could begin sometime between the first and third weeks of April. This estimate assumes:
- Milling operations of the remaining four wells continues with the two coiled tubing units,
- Production tubing installation requires 1 to 2 days per well and it is likely that two workover rigs will be used to install the production tubing,
- After production tubing is installed, it will take between 7 to 10 days to finish installing and testing the production facility and the flowlines from the wells to the facility.
Please keep in mind that this estimate is approximate and staff will revise it if any of the assumptions change. Extraction has told a representative of CDPHE that they anticipate beginning flowback in mid-April. The City & County Attorney will be meeting with Extraction’s attorney on March 16, 2020, and will confirm these estimates.
Broomfield’s inspectors continue to be onsite and monitoring all processes on the Livingston Pad. Broomfield staff continues to have regularly scheduled meetings with COGCC on Broomfield’s inspection efforts, and with CDPHE on Broomfield’s air monitoring and health tracking efforts.
If you have questions about this information please call 303.464.5153 or email at oilandgas@broomfield.org. We encourage residents to report concerns to the City and County of Broomfield’s Immediate Concern line at Broomfield.org/ImmediateConcern (mobile friendly version) or 720.887.3130.