EXPANDING THE NITROGEN-RICH HELIUM EXPLORATION FAIRWAY IN SASKATCHEWAN USING BASIN ANALYSIS

Helium is currently on the Canadian, Australian, and the European Union Critical Minerals Lists. While currently not on the US List, in January 2023 the U.S. Geological Survey sought public comments regarding “whether there is an increasing risk of helium-supply disruption.”, suggesting concerns. Shortages due to geopolitical conflict and plant outages/shutdowns in Kansas, Qatar and Russia has caused the price of helium to more than double in the past two years, putting tremendous pressure on its customers. Adding to the uncertainty is the pending sale of the US Bureau of Land Management’s federal helium stock in Hugoton Texas, which accounts for roughly 16% of global helium supply. Demand is expected to increase with accelerated growth in the medical equipment, semiconductor, and electronics industries, adding pressure to an already tight market.

Most helium in the world is produced via liquified natural gas extraction, with only a small amount from nitrogen rich wells. As the world moves towards greener energies, helium production from hydrocarbon sources will drop, making nitrogen-rich helium production more important. Canadian helium is produced primarily with nitrogen, reaching up to 97% of the gas stream’s total concentration. In 2022, Saskatchewan was Canada’s largest helium producer, recovering almost 1 per cent of the world’s helium volume from 15 wells in southwestern Saskatchewan, with volumes totaling close to 2.4 million m³ of helium.

Helium-bearing sediments in Saskatchewan lie within the northern part of the intracratonic Williston Basin and range in age from Middle Cambrian to Upper Cretaceous. Elevated helium shows (greater than 0.3% molarity) in gas analyses from oil and gas and potash wells across the southern two thirds of the province suggests that the helium play can be expanded well beyond the current area of exploration and development. Some of the more interesting shows lie coincidentally to major features that have been identified as either episodically tectonically active areas during the Phanerozoic or associated with deep hydrogeological boundaries. When associated with an efficient seal and nitrogen rich gases, these helium expressions can potentially become green economic sources of a critical mineral that will continue to be in high demand for the foreseeable future.