Authors / CoAuthors
Waltenberg, K.
Abstract
Helium is a commodity of strategic importance to high-technology fields, with applications in defence, medicine, manufacturing and energy. A secure supply of helium enables the continuing operation of MRI scanners, the manufacture of fibre optic cables, and the continuation of the aerospace industry to name just a few applications. A supply of helium into the future may enable the emergence of new technologies in energy production, transport, or information technology. The 2013 Geoscience Australia report into critical commodities (Skirrow et al., 2013) included helium as one of the commodities of strategic importance to Australia. Following on from this report, Geoscience Australia is working towards producing a resource assessment and data package based on its Australia-wide helium data holdings, incorporating gas data from more than 1400 gas and petroleum wells across Australia both offshore and onshore, and from conventional and unconventional reservoirs. Initial assessment of helium resources indicates that Australia has world-class helium resources which could provide helium for the domestic and export market for at least the next 40 years. With appropriate management, supply could be guaranteed for much longer. Helium gas can be economically extracted from many natural gas reservoirs, and Australia's supply is strongly tied to the liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry. With LNG production projected to grow from 24 million tonnes to 80 million tonnes per year by 2018 (BREE, 2013), the helium industry in Australia could also grow strongly. The large volumes of LNG production coupled with sufficient helium content in the natural gas mean that at least 700 MMCF (million cubic feet) of helium per year (almost 20 times estimated Australian consumption) could realistically be recovered from Australian reservoirs. Any helium that is not recovered from natural gas during extraction is lost to the atmosphere, meaning that helium resources are continually depleted regardless of whether the helium is recovered. Basins in and around the Northern Territory are some of the most prospective for helium in Australia. The Bonaparte Basin off the northwest coast of the Northern Territory has rich reserves of natural gas and may host significant helium resources that can be economically extracted in coordination with LNG production. Australia's only helium extraction plant, based in Darwin, already processes gas derived from this basin and is evidence supporting the commercial viability of helium extraction from offshore reservoirs. The Amadeus Basin in the south of the Northern Territory, although much lower in total natural gas reserves, has indications of significant helium abundance with some wells recording helium abundances to the percent level. With no associated LNG production planned for this basin, the commercial viability of helium extraction is much more dependent on high concentrations of helium. The uniquely-high concentration of helium in some wells in the Amadeus Basin suggests that helium extraction independent of natural gas extraction may be feasible a feat that has yet to be achieved anywhere else in the world. References BREE (Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics), 2014. Eastern Australian domestic market study. BREE, Canberra. Skirrow, R.G., Huston, D.L., Mernagh, T.P., Thorne, J.P., Dulfer, H., Senior, A.B., 2013. Critical commodities for a high-tech world: Australia's potential to supply global demand. Geoscience Australia, Canberra. GA 13-7166
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nonGeographicDataset
eCat Id
82999
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- External Publication
- Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)
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- Earth Sciences
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- Published_Internal
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2015-01-01T00:00:00
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Incorporates data from Petroleum Wells Database
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