Tanzanian Helium Discovery May Be Double Initial Estimate
- Foreign company says southwest field could have up to 99 BCf
- Discovery of rare gas used in technology dubbed ‘game changer’
Helium resources discovered in Tanzania last year may be almost twice as large as first thought, helping address possible future shortages of the gas used in medical scanners and nuclear energy when production begins, possibly as early as 2020, the exploration company said.
Researchers working with Lisbon-based Helium One Ltd. calculated the Rukwa gas field in southwestern Tanzania could contain as much as 98.9 billion cubic feet of the resource, Chief Executive Officer Thomas Abraham-James said in an interview. In June 2016, researchers from the universities of Oxford and Durham in England said the “probable resources” of the “game-changer” discovery were 54 billion cubic feet, seven times the world’s total annual consumption of the inert gas.