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MONDAY, APRIL 24, 1967Dulce, New Mexico—Home of the Jicarilla Apache TribeA-blast project soonGovernor David Cargo of New Mexico today visited the site of a planned underground nuclear detonation experimint designed to increase natural gas production and was briefed by project officials at the nearby Indian capital of Dulce.The joint industry—Government experiment, called Project Gas-buggy, will determine if nuclear explosives detonated deep underground can increase natural gasproduction by fracturing the I oi malion in which the gas is tightly trapped. The experiment calls for detonation of a 20 kilu-ton explosive (equivalent to 20,000 tons of TNT) 4200 ft. underground in the Pictured Cliffs formation of the San Juan Basin. It is located in the Carson National Forest about 15 miles from the Jicarilla Apache R e s e r v a t ion capital of Dulce and is some 55 air miles east of Farmington. VM. I'he experiment is scheduled . for the fall of 1967.Gasbuggy p r o j e c t Managei 1 James E. Reeves, Manager of i the AEC’s Nevada Operations : Office, told Governor Cargo that ' the experiment would not be conducted unless public safety can ( be assured, and cited the AEC's experience in conducting more lt;than 200 underground nuclear i detonations in New Mexico. The first was Project Gome, a 3,1 kiloton explosion some 1200 feet underground about 25 miles southeast of Carlsbad in December, 1961.Gonome was the first experiment in the AEC’s Plowshare Program to develop peaceful uses for nuclear explosives, Gasbuggy will be the first industrial application experiment in the Plowshare Program. Project Gasbuggy is a cooperative venture of the FI Paso Natural Gas Company, the Department of the Interior, and the A EC.Briefing Governor Cargo for El Paso Natural Gas Company was Sam Smith. Director of Exploration. Dr. Glenn Werth, Associate Director for Plowshare of the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, which is operated by the University of California at Livermore, briefed the governor on the technical aspects of the experiment. Wade Watkins, Director of Petroleum Research, U. S. Bureau of Mines of the Department of the Interior, discussed potential applications of the nuclear detonation technique to stimulate natural gas production.
Newspaper Details
Dulce Jicarilla Chieftain
Dulce, New Mexico, US
Mon, Apr 24, 1967
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Emily J.
USA 22 Jan 2024
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Dulce Jicarilla Chieftain
