Langley Well #1 (Forza Operating, LLC.)

General Location

Generally located between Texas Avenue and FM 270, just North of Austin Street.

Project Timeline

View the timeline of the project.

Current Status

Date Information
April 4, 2013
 The new drilling permit for Langley 1 well to Interstate Exploration was signed today. Therefore, the permit issued to Forza Operating has expired in which there will be no more entries made to this permit.
February 25, 2013 City staff met with the representatives of Interstate Exploration last Tuesday to discuss the intent to perform well testing at the Langley #1 well site. The representatives were reminded of the current oil and gas regulations as well as the existing conditions as set forth from the SUP10-04, which was approved by City Council. Based on the information provided by Interstate Exploration that they had assumed responsibility as operator, staff indicated that it was highly likely a new permit would be needed in Interstate Explorations name instead of Forza's and was being confirmed with legal counsel. The interpretation was confirmed by the city attorney a few days later. As a result, Interstate Exploration submitted a new drilling permit application today.

As a result of the application for a new permit, additional information will be provided under that permit's heading on the Oil and Gas / Pipeline Projects page. The current drilling permit to Forza Operating (DP2012-01c) will expire when a new drilling permit is issued or when the year time limit is reached on April 10, 2013, whichever comes first.
February 13, 2013 Staff was notified by a representative of Forza last week that they intend to conduct testing on the Langley #1 well site beginning in the next few weeks. In response, the city has provided a checklist to Forza regarding well testing operations. However, the city was informed today that Forza Operating has turned over Langley operations to Interstate Explorations, LLC., in which many of the same personnel working with Forza are now with Interstate Explorations. This will likely have an effect on the current Langley Well 1 permit for Forza Operating. Staff is currently assessing the notification of the change of the operators.
October 1, 2012 To date, none of the additional testing has occurred. The operator provided some additional information regarding the testing procedures, but no timeline has been given. Meanwhile, city staff continues to observe the pad site for any changes.
July 31, 2012
 City staff met with the Forza Operating, LLC. last week to discuss testing of the well. The operator has indicated there are zones of interest and will begin setting up at the well site to begin testing in the next few weeks. It should take several days to test each zone of interest in which testing will only occur during the daytime hours. Testing will cease if there is enough oil in a zone to make a well. Noise should be vastly diminished in relation to the drilling operations. However, staff will continue to monitor the noise in and around the well pad site.
June 26, 2012 The Oil and Gas Compliance Officer visited the drill site this morning. The drilling rig and associated equipment has been entirely removed from the site. Several offices remain operational on-site to facilitate the clean up of the drilling pad. The operator still has not decided on the future of the well. However, the necessary safety measures were put in place when the well was completed. This will be the last status update regarding the drilling phase for the Langley 1 Well. 
June 5 to 19, 2012 No decision has been communicated regarding the future of the well. The clean up and rigging down of the drilling rig continues. Noise levels will vary as the drilling rig is disassembled with additional traffic and truck noise as the drilling rig is removed from the site. City staff and city consultants continue to monitor on-site.
May 29, 2012 The drilling contractor continues to be on-site. The operator has not informed the city of a decision regarding the future of the oil well. However, it was decided to continue to complete the well by casing the entire hole in concrete, evaluation of the casing, and setting tubing in case it is decided to have production of the well at a later date.

There will be no testing for production capabilities or preparing the hold for production at this time. Meanwhile, the drilling rig will begin the rigging down procedure and moved off the site within the next few weeks. City staff and city consultants continue to monitor on-site.
May 22, 2012 The well was successfully logged last Thursday. The logging contractor processed the information and verified the data did not have any problems. The data was then forwarded to the operator where they have spent the past few days analyzing the data to decide what the next steps would be such as either preparing the well for production (completing the well) or abandonment. The operator has not informed the city staff of a decision at this time. Meanwhile, the drilling contractor is cleaning and preparing the site for any possible options and performing routine maintenance until they receive orders from the operator.
May 15, 2012 Over the past several days, the logging and drilling contractors have attempted to get the logging equipment to the bottom of the hole to log the well. The drilled hole has narrowed slightly in several areas due to the extreme pressure of the soil at that depth, which prevents the equipment from going deeper. The drilling contractor has had to go back and widen (ream) the hole its original size.

Noise levels will vary until the equipment is at the bottom of the hole. Prior to that, the drilling contractor successfully removed the remaining soil core samples from the bottom of the hole and resumed drilling for approximately 200 feet.

Estimated Drilling Period

Drilling is estimated to begin on March 22, 2012 and last approximately 30 to 45 days.Note: The drilling period may be shortened or lengthened depending upon various conditions found during drilling operations.

Drilling Permit

On July 19, 2011, Drilling Permit 2011-01 (PDF) was issued to Forza Operating, LLC. with five conditions listed below. The conditions were a result of the remaining comments from previous submittals. A final permit will be issued prior to the commencement of drilling on-site. Below is the documentation submitted for the conditions.

  • Condition 1 (PDF): Prior to drilling, a construction permit must be issued for roadway access to the drill site.
  • Condition 2 (PDF): Prior to drilling, a sound study must be finalized and approved by a city representative.
  • Condition 3 (PDF): Prior to drilling, a site specific Emergency Action Plan must be approved by a city representative.
  • Condition 4 (PDF): Prior to drilling, a revised site plan of the pad site must be approved by a city representative.
  • Condition 5 (PDF): Prior to drilling, a photometric site plan with lighting contours must be approved by a city representative.