Project Wagon Wheel: nuclear explosive stimulation of a natural gas well

Conference · Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1972

OSTI ID:7067834

Rogers, L A

Wagon Wheel is an experiment being designed to stimulate a natural gas well in Sublette County, Wyoming. It involves using multiple nuclear explosives vertically spaced in a gas well and detonated sequentially so that a large vertical section of the well can be stimulated. The project is described. Information is included on the project background, location selection, description of the site, the reservoir parameters, detonation design, and the project program. Wagon Wheel will be used to evaluate the cost and practicality of nuclear stimulation of natural gas reservoirs and will provide specific information on: the effect of spacing of multiple nuclear explosives emplaced in a single well on creating a continuous rubble chimney; refinement of engineering technology of emplacing and detonating nuclear explosives and of reentry drilling and well completion; and production costs and gas deliverability.

• Research Organization: El Paso Natural Gas Co., TX (USA)
• OSTI ID: 7067834
• Report Number(s): PNE-WW-7; CONF-720205-3
• Resource Relation: Conference: 71. national meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Dallas, TX, USA, 20 Feb 1972
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
NATURAL GAS WELLS
EXPLOSIVE STIMULATION
WAGON WHEEL EVENT
EVALUATION
COST
ENGINEERING
GAS ANALYSIS
NATURAL GAS
NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS
TESTING
WELL COMPLETION
WELL STIMULATION
WYOMING
CONTAINED EXPLOSIONS
ENERGY SOURCES
EXPLOSIONS
FEDERAL REGION VIII
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GASES
NORTH AMERICA
PLOWSHARE PROJECT
STIMULATION
USA
WELLS
030900* - Natural Gas- Artificial Stimulation
Plowshare- (-1989)
450201 - Military Technology
Weaponry
& National Defense- Nuclear Explosions & Explosives- Containment