| Show Plowshare Blost A-Blost Dates Set For Colorado ol rudo Oil Recovery Three Plo nuclear blasts are arc proposed for western Colorado In 1968 to 10 test cry cry or of oil shale Projects Drag Drag- Dragon on Tall Tail Rulison and Bronco verc detailed at the Oil Shale Symposium held lust last week Iek in int t hosted b by Colorado Gov John Love Project Dra Dragon on Tail Is to be conducted In the Douglas Creek Dragon Trail area 17 miles south of Rangely in Rio Blanco County The test will be on gov land under least lease to Continental Oil Co and will be bea bea a gas stimulation experiment firing dale Is set for lurch Maceli 1968 1008 THE EXPERIMENT consists of d detonating a 40 kiloton nuclear lear device at II a depth of ap ap- ap approximately proximately 2700 feet It 11 Is an an- that a chimney o of bro bro- broken ken hn rock having a radius of feet feel with a height of felt feet will b he produced This chimney bill ill have ha fractures in the thc for for for- formation mation extending 2 O to feet feel from from t the he shot hot This Indicates a gas as production lion tion of 6 0 to 8 ti times lies that of a well swell It II is also rc Ie ported that this sURRe suggests ts that approximately 50 percent of the thega ga gas sin in 11 place a ce should hc be plOd u Cle during a 20 year 20 ear period follow follow- following in ing the nuclear intonation PROJECT Rulison is also a tas as experiment but butIn In the Mesa Verde formation In Garfield County Proposed here Is the thc simultaneous Cirin firing of two t 50 kiloton 50 kiloton devices verti verti- vertically cally In the same well bore at depths of and Bono feet fer If the Initial experiment is suc suc- successful the entire field would bl be ready for scale full fuU scale develop develop- development ment The US Government has hasa a great greal interest In this project since it owns ovens most of the area and gain substantial roy allies ol ted led royalties from from the Rulison field it'll alone would more than re pay all of the money spent on the Plowshare Program since its incept inception ion Operation Bronco ronco I scheduled for late is in the thc formative stages and the actual site has not been chosen hosen however it will willbe willbe be here In the Basin Ba in THIS experiment would con on consist si t of drilling and coring a number of II hot test lest hol holes s sand and detonating possibly a 50 50 kiloton explosion e at a depth of feet Predictions are arc that this product produce a broken rock filled chin chimney Hey under under- ground with n a radius of feet and amI a height o of 55 feet This chimney will contain p ap proximately tons of broken rock containing barrels of oil oil Ignition of the broken shale and amid injection of air ail Into the flue avit cavity to retort the in place will produce a ausable ausable usable crude shale oil product This retorting would start after the specific size and dimensions of the tho broken shale have been heln determined by reentry entry wells he crude shale oil would be produced from conventional oil wells drilled into the cavity be- be below be low the retorting area THIS experimental program and evaluation of the test re cc- cc stilts Milts will extend OWl over a period of several everal years hf At the same Denver scientists expressed their belief that oil produced from shale beds In the Intermountain area be far less a pollutant to the than conven- conven conventional lional petroleum pet The scientists also all O said they felt fell that using nuclear underground explosions to fracture oil shale rock would not pollute water atel supplies The Meeker Herald |
