Helium industry at home and abroad:The status quo and development prospects
Helium,as a kind of strategic noble gas resources closely related to national security and high-tech industrial development,plays an irreplaceable role in scientific research,medicine,aviation and other high-tech industries.However,its supply has been confronted with shortage in recent years.In order to further reduce the foreign dependence,relieve the severe situation of domestic supply,and prevent the future supply disciplined by others,helium's exploration and develop-ment fruits,productivity construction,and supply-demand situation were discussed for major helium-producing countries worldwide through extensive literature investigation and data collection.Additionally,the distribution,production,market status and problems were analyzed for foreign helium resources,and the development and challenges in China's helium in-dustry were also put forward.Results show that(i)helium resources in China has extremely high foreign dependence and long-term dependence on imports.Most of the imported resources come from the United States,Qatar,and Australia whose market supply is absolutely dominant;(ii)the security of helium resources is quite severe in China,suggesting that oil com-panies should attach great importance to their potential evaluation and development feasibility study,take helium as essen-tial supplement to existing petroleum assets,and strengthen the exploitation in helium-rich gas reservoirs at home and abroad,so that the helium industry will have promising prospects;and(iii)some suggestions are proposed,such as to build a diversified system on helium supply,to put the shortage of domestic supply at ease,to find an adequate response to changes in helium markets,and to prevent behaviors of deliberately limiting the supply.
HeliumNoble gasNatural-gas developmentStrategic resourcesIndustrial status
万方数据
维普
