Helium is the quintessential Critical Mineral supporting modern technology. Demand is growing steadily as we find more and more applications – supercoiling magnets in MRI machines, providing inert atmospheres for high-tech electronic and fibre optic fabrication, and purging explosive remnants from reusable rocket fuel tanks are some of the key applications.

While helium is the second most abundant element in the universe, it’s highly elusive on earth, occurring only in trace quantities in subsurface gas pools. Historically the United States has been the major producer, controlling the global market through its strategic helium reserve. The American strategic reserve no longer exists, however, and major producing pools have declined, so exploration for new helium reserves is an exciting growth industry.

Helium typically occurs as a trace constituent in natural gas pools. Extraction can be economic at concentrations of 0.3% or greater, depending on flow rates, reserve size and market conditions. Some international operators are now extracting helium at much lower concentrations from liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, where throughput volumes are huge, and liquefying the gas is the first step toward cryogenic extraction of helium.

Another new development is “green” helium, found in association with inert gas in reservoirs that have never been charged by hydrocarbons – and are thus attractive to investors not wanting to be involved in oil and gas.

Hydrogen

Hydrogen is already a key commodity in industrial markets, supporting petroleum refining, petrochemicals, and synthetic fuels. But we view it as a critical material because there are hopes of producing it in such abundance that it can underpin the 21st century energy economy, producing energy without greenhouse gas emissions.

The problem with that idea is that hydrogen is currently only an energy vector, like electricity – we have to spend energy to make it and to move it to where it’s used, so it’s not an energy source today.

But if we can produce geologic (or “natural”) hydrogen from subsurface reservoirs, then we’d have a new and low-emissions energy source. Geologic hydrogen is a hot topic, and is attracting a lot of interest in junior exploration circles. But so far it’s only a concept. Can we figure out how to make it a reality?

Summary

This course will introduce you to helium by reviewing its applications and markets, then examining exploration, appraisal and development of helium from deep reservoirs, primarily in sedimentary basins. We’ll sum up with a look at helium exploration, with examples from selected explorers.

Our introduction to hydrogen will be briefer, as it is already a well-known and established commodity. We’ll focus on the concept of geologic hydrogen and how it might occur in the subsurface – which dictates how we can explore for and develop natural occurrences.

Helium and geologic hydrogen exploration present excellent opportunities to build on petroleum industry skills, datasets and infrastructure in sedimentary basins around the world, and perhaps in new, non-sedimentary frontiers.