Project GASBUGGY Virtual Cache
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This was the site of the first U.S. underground nuclear experiment for the stimulation of low productivity gas resources.
The Gasbuggy Nuclear Test Site is the location of a December 10, 1967 underground nuclear explosion, conducted to test the viability of using a nuclear device to aid in natural gas extraction. It was part of the Plowshare Program, the program to develop peaceful uses of nuclear weapons, and was the first use of a nuclear explosion for industrial purposes.
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.
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.
Visitation Information:
The site, in Carson National Forest, is open to public access. It consists of a clearing with a small monument, which has a plaque containing a brief description of the event. From State Highway 64 go south on F.S. 357 for seven and a quarter miles. There will be a fork in the road, and go right, proceeding on F.S. 357. Make sure that you stay on this road, and enter the Carson National Forest. Go another six tenths of a mile to Ground Zero.
Project Gasbuggy websites:
Nuclear explosion shook Farmington by Wade H. Nelson
Project Gasbuggy
Gasbuggy Test Site
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