| Show First Data Indicates i I Good Fractures The Atomic Ener Energy v Com Com- Commission mission lon together tORether with El Paso Natural Gas Company with the thc Interior released preliminary technical data obtained from Project the first joint industry government ex ex- experiment in the Plow share Program to develop pEaceful uses of nuclear ex plosives I THE DETONATION occur occurred rEd on December 10 1967 near Farmington New Mexico Urn analyses of seismic data analyzed to date indicate that the explosion released a 26 20 kilotons of energy The objective of is isto isto to help determine whether nu nu- nu nuclear clear explosives can be used to stimulate the production and recovery of natural gas from formations where the gas is not recoverable by conventional means The technical program is under the direction of the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory ry at Livermore California FINAL RESULTS of Gas buggy are not expected to be known for fot about one to two yearn year J although much tion and data will he be obtained and reported during this period Reentry entry drilling was ed on January 10 and indicates that a chimney of broken rock was formed as expected The top of this chimney is feet below the surface of the ground which gives a chimney height of feet The fact that the chimney height was wasso wasso so close to the expected gives Increased confidence that other I pre shot pre shot calculations such as the foot 78 chimney radius may be also approximately correct Other measurements indicate that the chimney was formed by collapse within a minute after the explosion AT THE time of the ion Instruments indicated that fractures in the rock around the chimney extended out to about feet The pre shot pre pre- mo 1 f rf r i i S L CUE CHOICE Pearl earl Bailey alley who took the enter enter- entertainment worl world by storm with her performance In the title role of Hello Dolly has been named Entertainer of the Year 1967 by bv e editors of Cue MagazIne Previous Previous winners Include Diahann Carroll Zero Bar bra Sammy Da Da- Da Davia via vIs Mike Nichols and Bar Bar- bara Barbara Harris diction of the extent of such fracturing was about feet The chimney formation and thE extent of fracturing are important since the rate at which natural gas flows Into a awell awell well Is determined by the per of the rock and the pressure of the gas within the rock Thus the size of the chim ney of broken rock and the ex tent of fractures extending out out- outward ward from it determine the increase in recoverable gas Measurements of gas pres sure in the reservoir prior to the detonation revealed a reservoir pressure of about 1050 pounds per square inch The gas pressure measured af- af after after ter the explosion currently is pounds per square inch at atthe atthe the surface which indicates pressure in the chimney now to toI tobe tobe be about pounds per square I Inch The lower pressure results I from the fact that the explosion created about two million cubic feet of void space between the broken rock in the chimney Into which gas can flow As gas enters the chimney the pres pres- pres pressure sure within the chimney in creases and is expected to ap ap- ap approach the original levels with with- within In a few months One of the ob ob- ob objectives of the ex- ex experiment ex is to determine the rate at which gas reenters enters the chimney and this can be meas meas- measured in part by the rate of pressure increase These data further will be refined by removing gas collected in the chimney and again measuring ing the rate at which gas reo re enters the chimney Such deter deter- determinations minati ns will be part of the continuing shot post program Predictions made before the explosion indicated ed that several would be present in the gas aft af- ter the explosion including krypton 85 iodine xenon xenon and tritium Measurements to determine the amount of tri trio are Important In assess assess- assessing I Ing the public health and safety aspects of this experiment exper ment Rough measurements of samples es of gas collected to date at the site have der de the presence of xenon The short radioactive life half of xenon about five days means that it would not be of significance ti In future ture apt ap- applications The on site instruments used for these radioactivity measure measure- measurements ments are designed primarily to assure the health and safety of workers at the site They are not designed to perform detail detail- detailed ed analyses to identify very small quantities of krypton or tritium Samples of natural gas have been flown to at Liv- Liv Livermore California for de de- de detailed tailed analyses to investigate the presence of these and other nuclides The re of these analyses are not expected to tobe tobe be known for s some me time but butwill butwill will be reported wh whets n available le SCIENTISTS working on the project point out that the most Important information to be ob oh- oh tamed from the ex- ex experiment ex on radioactivity gas flow Increases related to fracturing gas pressure pressure and gas production testing testing testing- will be fathered and analyzed over the next year or more after which It will be possible to draw firm lit conclusions about about the results of the experiment |
