Helium-3 is an isotope of helium that contains only one neutron compared to the two neutrons in helium-4, which is extracted from natural gas reservoirs and produced as a result of radioactive decay of tritium, a byproduct of nuclear weapons production. Rare helium has been discovered for the first time in huge quantities in the gas fields of the Great Plains in the USA, which are still the largest pure helium gas tank source in the world.
The challenge of dealing with liquid helium, and the fact that it is produced in only a few places in the world as a by-product of natural gas, make helium a difficult product. In the United States, natural gas containing crude helium is considered crude helium if it has a helium concentration of more than 50 percent and a small amount of certain impure minerals such as H2 less than 20 parts per million (ppm). Prospectors scoop helium from the methane produced by liquefying natural gas into helium in such low concentrations because of financial incentives.
This map shows helium-rich gas fields and helium processing facilities in the United States in 2012. For the production of crude helium, there are specific processes that must be followed to extract crude helium from natural gas depending on whether natural gas is sprayed into methane, natural gas liquids (NGLs) or other gas sources such as CO 2 or converted into liquefied natural gas (LNG). Helium production in the United States amounted to 73 million cubic meters in 2014. The United States is the world’s largest producer of helium and supplies about 40 percent of the world’s supply.
Although the US is the biggest known source of natural gas and helium, it is not the only country with reserves. According to the British financial institution, the United States has the largest helium reserves in the world.
While the US is the world’s biggest producer of helium, Qatar also extracts helium from natural gas fields in the Texas panhandle. A complete sell-off of US strategic reserves could lead to a shortfall in helium in the near future, which would affect the world’s ability to extract helium from natural gas reservoirs.
In 1915 the military built the first helium extraction facility in Petrolia, Texas, a large natural gas field containing an average of 1 percent helium. The Mineral Leasing Act required the government to lease oil and gas from federal land reserves and helium-bearing natural gas on federal land.
The combined production capacity of the new and existing facility on site is 58 million cubic meters per year and makes Qatar the world’s largest helium producer – containing 25% of the current global production. The world’s largest helium processing and liquefaction plant, a turnkey project in the industrial city of Ras Laffan in Qatar, has a production capacity of 38 million cubic meters of helium per year.
A new and expanded LNG plant for the production of helium products is scheduled to go into operation this year in Qatar and Algeria, increasing supply that already exceeds the increased demand, the company said. By the end of the year, Russia’s Gazprom is also expected to commission its new Amur natural gas processing and helium production facility in Siberia.
Another law passed in 2013 extended reserve operations in countries such as Qatar and Russia, which have invested heavily in helium production, Ballentine said, but gas supplies are thin. According to a report by Edison Investment Research, declining production at the Hugoton gas field in Kansas, a major source of helium, and halogen depletion at the Federal Reserve have reduced global supply.
In comparison, the helium concentration in the natural gas formation in the US in which it is extracted is 0.3%, while it is 0.1% in Qatar, says Jon Gluyas, a geologist at Durham University in the UK who advises helium prospectors. The tapping and holding of the helium price is reflected in the average increase in the price of its helium reserves of 3.8% per year (prices in 2011 were US $7.5 mcf), while other major helium producers such as BOC Gas & Air Products and Praxair are seeing an average increase of 10-12% per year to offset the increase in production and distribution costs as the global helium market has grown by 5% per year.
Arun kumar 