Project Gasbuggy test site

USA / New Mexico / Navajo /
 interesting place, nuclear testing area
This was the site of the first U.S. underground nuclear experiment for the stimulation of low productivity gas resources. On December 10, 1967 a 29 kiloton nuclear explosive was detonated at a depth of 4222 feet.

"The test was overseen by the San Francisco Operations Office of the Atomic Energy Commission, and was conducted by the Lawrence Radiation Lab (later to become the Lawrence Livermore National Lab) in conjunction with the El Paso Natural Gas Company. Called "gas stimulation", the technique has been used employing conventional explosives, and it was hoped that a larger nuclear explosion would be capable of opening up "tight" gas deposits which are not otherwise economically viable. The test called for a 29 kiloton nuclear device, enclosed within a thirteen-foot by 18" diameter canister, to be placed at the bottom of a 4,240 foot deep shaft drilled in a "tight" shale formation known to contain natural gas."
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Gasbuggy
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   36°40'40"N   107°12'30"W

Comments

  • The crowd gathered on that cold Sunday, 20 miles from Dulce and 5 1/2 miles north of Ground Zero. They counted down along with the voice of the official. The ground jolted, then shook. A cheer went up. To a large degree the experiment went as planned: the underground cavity produced by the explosion, 120 feet wide and 335 feet high, filled with natural gas from the fractured surrounding rock. However the gas was too radioactive to be commercially distributed by the public utilities. ( http://www.atomictourist.com/gasbug.htm )
This article was last modified 12 years ago