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Both the US and the Soviet Union actually experimented with "nuclear fracking" in oil/gas fields. The Soviet Union also used atomic bombs to put out fires in ga

Both the US and the Soviet Union actually experimented with "nuclear fracking" in oil/gas fields. The Soviet Union also used atomic bombs to put out fires in gas fields as late as 1981.

mauvehaus 2mo ago
They what?! Can we please get a link to this to read more?! And yes, I have the same Google as you, but I'd love a link to your preferred telling of the tale of how the Soviets nuked a gas well fire just a couple years before I was born.
- paulgerhardt 2mo ago
  I recall we were seriously talking about using one during the early days of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. For a variety of reasons it wouldn’t have worked in that instance. [1] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/report-soviets-nuked-gas-well-fires/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/report-soviets-nuked-gas-well-f...
- 3eb7988a1663 2mo ago
  Wikipedia has an article about it[0]. Gas had been leaking for three years before they were able to use a nuke to seal the well. Estimated that it was burning 12 million m3 of gas daily. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urtabulak_gas_field https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urtabulak_gas_field
  - gilleain 2mo ago
    Interesting, however that was 1966: > the explosive was detonated at a depth of 1,500 m (1,640 yd) on 30 September 1966. The hole that the explosive was lowered into had also been sealed with cement so as to prevent atmospheric radioactive contamination. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Explosions_for_the_National_Economy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Explosions_for_the_Nat... > The last nuclear explosion by the Program 7, codenamed Rubin-1, was performed in Arkhangelsk Oblast on September 6, 1988. Although there is no separate page for that.
jojobas 2mo ago
Soviets also blew up a 140kt bomb to make a lake. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shagan_(lake,_Abai_Region) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shagan_(lake,_Abai_Region)
dghlsakjg 2mo ago
My grandfather worked as the lead geologist on Project Rulison. That was the fracking shot in western CO. Apparently the shot was quite successful as a natural gas fracking technique, but quite a bit of radon also was released.
somat 2mo ago
See also: operation plowshare. The idea was you could use nuclear bombs to dig canals. Or make harbors. Or really any large scale earth moving project. The U.S. did one test shot, a shallow buried bomb intended as a cratering charge. https://www.google.com/maps/@37.176944,-116.046111,4654m https://www.google.com/maps/@37.176944,-116.046111,4654m This ended up contaminating more people than any other test which put the breaks on that. The soviets had an equivalent study but tried a little harder and are now the proud owners of several new irradiated lakes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Plowshare https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Plowshare https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedan_(nuclear_test) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedan_(nuclear_test) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Explosions_for_the_National_Economy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Explosions_for_the_Nat...
- pfdietz 2mo ago
  That whole effort was predicated on success of efforts to develop fission-free bombs. That never worked out, although the inertial confinement fusion program is in a way its descendant. The scale of ICF reactors shows why it didn't work out. A slight shame, since this might have made Project Pacer (exploding bombs in caverns to make energy) more feasible. There still would have been enormous tritium production/pollution.
- schiffern 2mo ago
  >The U.S. did one test shot I'm seeing 11 shots total,[0] though Wikipedia lists even more. "Nine were for the purpose of developing an ultra-low fission thermonuclear explosive for use in nuclear excavation projects and one each was for the development of special emplacement techniques and for a small diameter, ultra-low tritium producing explosive for hydrocarbon applications such as Rio Blanco." [0] Table 1 on page 7 (PDF page 11) https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/408695 https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/408695

Both the US and the Soviet Union actually experimented with "nuclear fracking" in oil/gas fields. The Soviet Union also used atomic bombs to put out fires in gas fields as late as 1981.

mauvehaus 2mo ago

They what?! Can we please get a link to this to read more?! And yes, I have the same Google as you, but I'd love a link to your preferred telling of the tale of how the Soviets nuked a gas well fire just a couple years before I was born.

paulgerhardt 2mo ago
I recall we were seriously talking about using one during the early days of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. For a variety of reasons it wouldn’t have worked in that instance. [1] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/report-soviets-nuked-gas-well-fires/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/report-soviets-nuked-gas-well-f...
3eb7988a1663 2mo ago
Wikipedia has an article about it[0]. Gas had been leaking for three years before they were able to use a nuke to seal the well. Estimated that it was burning 12 million m3 of gas daily. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urtabulak_gas_field https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urtabulak_gas_field
- gilleain 2mo ago
  Interesting, however that was 1966: > the explosive was detonated at a depth of 1,500 m (1,640 yd) on 30 September 1966. The hole that the explosive was lowered into had also been sealed with cement so as to prevent atmospheric radioactive contamination. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Explosions_for_the_National_Economy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Explosions_for_the_Nat... > The last nuclear explosion by the Program 7, codenamed Rubin-1, was performed in Arkhangelsk Oblast on September 6, 1988. Although there is no separate page for that.

jojobas 2mo ago

Soviets also blew up a 140kt bomb to make a lake. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shagan_(lake,_Abai_Region) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shagan_(lake,_Abai_Region)

dghlsakjg 2mo ago

My grandfather worked as the lead geologist on Project Rulison. That was the fracking shot in western CO. Apparently the shot was quite successful as a natural gas fracking technique, but quite a bit of radon also was released.

somat 2mo ago

See also: operation plowshare. The idea was you could use nuclear bombs to dig canals. Or make harbors. Or really any large scale earth moving project. The U.S. did one test shot, a shallow buried bomb intended as a cratering charge. https://www.google.com/maps/@37.176944,-116.046111,4654m https://www.google.com/maps/@37.176944,-116.046111,4654m This ended up contaminating more people than any other test which put the breaks on that. The soviets had an equivalent study but tried a little harder and are now the proud owners of several new irradiated lakes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Plowshare https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Plowshare https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedan_(nuclear_test) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedan_(nuclear_test) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Explosions_for_the_National_Economy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Explosions_for_the_Nat...

pfdietz 2mo ago
That whole effort was predicated on success of efforts to develop fission-free bombs. That never worked out, although the inertial confinement fusion program is in a way its descendant. The scale of ICF reactors shows why it didn't work out. A slight shame, since this might have made Project Pacer (exploding bombs in caverns to make energy) more feasible. There still would have been enormous tritium production/pollution.
schiffern 2mo ago
>The U.S. did one test shot I'm seeing 11 shots total,[0] though Wikipedia lists even more. "Nine were for the purpose of developing an ultra-low fission thermonuclear explosive for use in nuclear excavation projects and one each was for the development of special emplacement techniques and for a small diameter, ultra-low tritium producing explosive for hydrocarbon applications such as Rio Blanco." [0] Table 1 on page 7 (PDF page 11) https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/408695 https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/408695