Gasbuggy
| Project Gasbuggy | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Information | |
| Country | United States |
| Test series |
Operation Crosstie Operation Plowshare |
| Test site | Carson National Forest |
| Date | December 10, 1967 |
| Test type | Underground |
| Yield | 29 kt |
Coordinates: 36°40′41″N 107°12′33″W / 36.678037°N 107.209205°W
Project Gasbuggy was an underground nuclear detonation carried out by the United States Atomic Energy Commission on December 10, 1967 in rural northern New Mexico. It was part of Operation Plowshare, a program designed to find peaceful uses for nuclear explosions.
Gasbuggy was carried out by the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory and the El Paso Natural Gas Company, with funding from the Atomic Energy Commission. Its purpose was to determine if nuclear explosions could be useful in fracturing rock formations for natural gas extraction. The site, lying in the Carson National Forest, is approximately 34 km (21 mi) southwest of Dulce, New Mexico and 87 km (54 mi) east of Farmington, and was chosen because natural gas deposits were known to be held in sandstone beneath Leandro Canyon. A 29 kt (120 TJ) device was placed at a depth of 1,288 m (4,227 ft) underground, then the well was backfilled before the device was detonated; a crowd had gathered to watch the detonation from atop a nearby butte.
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