Tedesco is conducting a webinar soon on helium. It is to be held on November 14 at 2:PM. It is being hosted by the AAPG. Helium and Hydrogen in the last five years have become the hot products in the industry that is bringing in a lot of capital to pure both elements. Over the past three years several new helium producing areas have been established or grown in terms of exploration and development.
The problem with helium rich reservoirs is that they typically are, generally, small accumulations, limited in long-term reserves regardless of percentage of helium in the associated gas. Many helium rich areas, such as central Kansas, Las Animas County, Colorado, and Holbrook Basin and Black Mesa Basin in Arizona are under pressured that limits flow and ultimate reserves.
Surface issues in certain areas are restricting or halting development in areas such as the Black Mesa Basin in Arizona and central Utah limiting development. New production coming on in some of the new areas and the Amur Plant in Russia starting up may alleviate some of the supply problems.
A number of helium areas are uneconomic if prices fall below $400 an MCF. Hydrogen is becoming a major focus for the Biden Administration causing a land rush in areas where hydrogen has been detected in the gas streams. The land rush is generally focused along the Mid-Continent Rift System in the US which has hydrogen gas migrating up from basement into reservoir rocks of Precambrian through Paleozoic sediments.
However, to date, there is only one hydrogen producing well in the world and it is in Mali. Hydrogen requires special casing and equipment as the element is highly reactive so costs are significantly higher than typical oil and gas. Transportation of hydrogen from well to distribution facility is limited in distance as the element tends to escape from most containers relatively rapidly. Both elements are revolutionizing the oil and gas industry but their true overall future impact remains uncertain.
See Tedesco's book: https://shop.elsevier.com/books/geology-and-production-of-helium-and-associated-gases/tedesco/978-0-323-90988-4
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