Helium gas field found in Africa

Scientists have located a large helium gas field and hope that this find can replenish quickly-decreasing amounts of the element in storage around the world.

Helium is needed for a variety of roles, such as MRI scanners, welding, nuclear energy and industrial leak detection. However, until this discovery, helium has always been discovered by accident during searches for gas or oil. The find was achieved by scientists from Oxford and Durham University along with Helium One, a Norwegian helium exploration company.

Professor Chris Ballentine, from Oxford University and involved in the discovery, said: "We sampled helium gas (and nitrogen) just bubbling out of the ground in the Tanzanian East African Rift valley. By combining our understanding of helium geochemistry with seismic images of gas trapping structures, independent experts have calculated a probable resource of 54 billion cubic feet (BCf) in just one part of the rift valley. This is enough to fill over 1.2 million medical MRI scanners."

To put this into perspective, the global consumption of helium is about eight BCf every year. The United States Federal Helium Reserve, the largest supplier worldwide, has a reserve of 24.2 BCf. The scientists’ research showed that the immense heat needed to release helium from the gas-containing rocks is provided by volcanic activity in Tanzania. The helium released by these rocks is then trapped in shallower gas fields.

Diveen Danabalan, a PhD student at Durham who will present this research at a conference in Japan, said: "If gas traps are located too close to a given volcano, they run the risk of helium being heavily diluted by volcanic gases. We are now working to identify the ‘goldilocks-zone’ between the ancient crust and the modern volcanoes where the balance between helium release and volcanic dilution is 'just right'."

Professor John Gluyas, from Durham University, said: “This is an outstanding example of industry and academia working together closely to deliver real value to society. The impact of this and expected future helium discoveries will secure supply for the medical scanning and other industries.”