An evaluation of the characteristics of contained nuclear explosions shows attributes that may be useful in petroleum production as well as in the recovery of wealth from deposits that may be leached in situ, and from "thermal" areas.

The broken rock and associated fracture zone produced in the underground "pay" zone by a nuclear explosion conceivably can (1) make commercial petroleum reservoirs out of traps that are too tight to yield commercial hydrocarbon rates with currently known completion techniques, (2) allow in situ reporting of oil shales, and (3) aid in commercial exploitation of tar-sand deposits.

Although nuclear explosions have not been used to date in petroleum reservoirs, the data developed from several contained shots in other media can be extrapolated to yield a picture of potential nuclear stimulation "targets." In general, these are seen to be moderately deep, thick, brittle formations located in areas of low population density.

The results of a series of generalized economic analyses are presented graphically. Thus the effects of such parameters as (1) formation thickness, (2) depth of burial, (3) volume of hydrocarbon in place, and (4) device cost on the rate of return may be determined.

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