SciencePhoto: HT WorldUS Detonated 29-Kiloton Nuclear Bomb in New Mexico to Extract Gas in 1967
In 1967, the US Atomic Energy Commission detonated a 29-kiloton nuclear bomb 4,227 feet underground in northwestern New Mexico to release natural gas. Named Project Gasbuggy, the blast aimed to fracture rock in the Pictured Cliffs Formation to increase gas flow. Five tests produced 213 million cubic feet of gas, but it was radioactive. The project was part of the Plowshare Program for peaceful nuclear uses.
HT World··Farmington



