At normal temperature, helium is an extremely light, colorless, odorless, and tasteless monatomic gas; when the temperature drops to 2.174K after liquefaction, liquid helium has strong thermal conductivity and low viscosity, and low temperatures close to absolute zero can be obtained . Due to its special properties, helium has a wide range of uses, and is widely used in electronics, medical, and aerospace fields. However, helium is a rare gas, and its distribution on the earth is very uneven, and it has even been listed as a global strategic material.
So, what about the global distribution of helium resources?
Global Distribution of Helium Resources
Helium (He) is the second most abundant gas in the universe after hydrogen, accounting for 23% by mass. However, the content of helium in the earth is very small, and the content of helium in the air is only 0.0005%, which does not have the value of industrial extraction. Therefore, most of the helium on the earth comes from natural gas, and the volume concentration of helium in conventional natural gas is between 0.0001% - 1%, mostly between 0.001% - 0.5%. Currently, extracting helium from natural gas is the main method.
Many special properties of helium determine that it plays an irreplaceable role in many fields. But at the same time, this has also caused a lot of headaches for many helium-poor countries.
The distribution of helium resources in the world is very uneven. The United States is the country with the richest helium resources in the world. Although it has been exploited on a large scale for more than 60 years, its helium reserves still account for more than 40% of the world's total reserves. Therefore, the United States Master almost holds the global helium market.
According to the survey report of the US Geological Survey in 2009: the United States, Algeria, Qatar and Russia have 89% of the world's helium resources.
The quality of helium resources in the world also varies greatly. The average content of helium in natural gas in the central and eastern regions of the United States, which has the largest helium production in the world, is about 0.8%, and it is as high as 7.5% in individual natural gas fields. The helium content is extremely low, among which helium-depleted natural gas is the most, and the helium content of the Weiyuan natural gas field with the highest helium content is only 0.2%.
According to statistics, the global helium production in 2020 will be 152 million cubic meters, a year-on-year decrease of 11.6%. Among them, the helium production in the United States in 2020 is 74 million cubic meters; the helium production in Qatar is 45 million cubic meters; the helium production in Algeria is 14 million cubic meters; the helium production in Russia is 5 million cubic meters; The output is 1 million cubic meters; the helium production in Canada is 1 million cubic meters.
