"Project Rulison is a joint experiment sponsored by Austral Oil Company, Incorporated, of Houston, Texas, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of the Interior, with the Program Management provided by CER Geonuclear Corporation of Las Vegas, Nevada, under contract to Austral. Its purpose is to study the economic and technical feasibility of using underground nuclear explosions to stimulate production of natural gas from the low productivity, gas bearing Mesaverde formation in the Rulison Field. Project Rulison involves the detonation of a nuclear explosive equal to 40,000 tons of TNT, at a depth of 8,430 feet underground in the Mesaverde formation underlying the 60,000 acre Rulison Field. The field lies largely in the south-central portion of Garfield County, Colorado, and partly into the northeast portion of Mesa County. The Rulison detonation will take place about 40 air miles northeast of Grand Junction, Colorado. Rulison is expected provide additional data to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of nuclear stimulation. Such information includes the effects of increased temperature and pressure at greater depths on explosive performance and the effects of higher yield detonations in stimulating the production of natural gas. Austral hopes this will be the first step toward full development of this major gas reserve."