Pure-play helium, also known as primary helium or green helium is
helium
Helium (from ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, non-toxic, inert gas, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. Its boiling point is ...
that is extracted from the earth as the main product. Since the early 20th century, most of the world's helium supply has been extracted from
natural gas
Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
as part of the
nitrogen rejection process. The preference for primary helium is driven by the planned reduction in use of natural gas, and instabilities in the supply of helium.
Occurrence
To accumulate to an exploitable reservoir, helium must be trapped by a non-porous rock. It is usually accompanied by a larger amount of nitrogen.
Exploration
In North America, most exploration activity centres on the
Four Corners
Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. Most of the Four Corners regio ...
region, where the borders of the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah intersect.
Resources
Exploration in
Tanzania
Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
shows reserves of 138 billion cubic feet.
Grand Gulf Energy is drilling in the Leadville Dolomite Formation in
Utah
Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
.
References
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Helium
Resource extraction