Discovery of a huge helium gas field in Tanzania

Helium is an essential material in many fields, including MRI scanners in medicine, welding, detecting leaks and leaks in industry as well as in the field of nuclear energy. At the same time, known reserves of this gas are running out at a rapid rate

[Translation by Dr. Nachmani Moshe]
An innovative approach to gas detection has led to the discovery of a huge field of helium gas, such that the amount stored in it could solve the problem of the critical shortage of this vital but rather rare element.

Helium gas is not just the stuff that makes your voice sound funny - helium is an essential material in many fields, including MRI scanners in medicine, welding, detecting leaks and leaks in industry as well as in the field of nuclear energy. At the same time, known reserves of this gas are running out at a rapid rate. To date, helium gas has never been discovered on purpose - it was simply discovered unexpectedly in small quantities during oil and gas drilling.

Now, a research group from the Universities of Oxford and Durham, working together with Helium One, a private helium discovery company based in Norway, has developed a completely novel detection approach. The first use of this method resulted in the discovery of a huge helium gas field in Tanzania. Their research showed that volcanic activity provides the great heat required to release the gas from ancient rocks where this gas is stored.

In the East Syrian-African rift areas of the country of Tanzania, volcanoes spewed the helium gas from deep ancient rocks where the gas was trapped in shallow gas fields. Says one of the researchers: "We showed that volcanoes in the rift play an important part in the creation of sustainable helium reserves. Volcanic activity is probably the source that provides the high heat required to release the helium gas that accumulated in ancient crustal rocks. At the same time, if the gas reservoirs are too close to the volcano, then there is the risk that the helium is heavily contaminated with other volcanic gases, for example carbon dioxide, just as we discovered in hot springs that are also located in this area. We are currently trying to map the exact area where the optimal balance exists between the amount of helium released and the level of contamination from volcanic gas.

Professor Chris Ballentine, from the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford, says: "We took samples of helium gas right from the bubbles that arose from the ground in the areas of the Syrian-African East Rift of the country of Tanzania. By combining our understanding of the geochemistry of helium together with seismic images of gas-trapping structures, independent experts were able to calculate that there is a potential reservoir of 1.5 billion cubic meters in just one area sampled in that valley. This amount is enough to fill 1.2 million medical MRI scanners. For comparison, the annual global consumption of helium is 220 million cubic meters, and the US federal helium reserve, which is the largest supplier of helium in the world, includes only about 680 million cubic meters. The total amount of helium in known reservoirs in the US is equal to 4.5 billion cubic meters.

The current discovery is an important step in improving the future security of humanity in terms of helium demand." One of the research partners explains: "Our research is an exceptional example of the ability to combine industry and academia working together while achieving benefits for humanity. The researchers explain that they will be able to use the same strategy in other parts of the world with a similar geological history in order to find new helium reserves. What excites us is the fact that we were able to create a connection between the importance of volcanic activity for the emission of helium and the presence of possible trapping structures, where this research is another step in creating an effective model for detecting helium.

The news about the study