Massive helium reservoir in Minnesota could solve US shortage

A massive helium reservoir discovered in Minnesota earlier this year could alleviate critical shortages of the gas across several industries in the U.S., experts say. On Aug. 21, the resource exploration company Pulsar Helium announced the results of an independent evaluation of its helium drilling site near Babbitt — and the data bode well for commercial helium production, according to a statement.
The evaluation estimated the volume of helium recoverable from a single well that taps into 13% of the overall land that Pulsar Helium owns in Minnesota. The results showed this one well contains 22.9 million cubic feet (649,000 cubic meters) of helium, which is equivalent to roughly 1% of U.S. helium production in 2023 and 0.4% of total global production in 2023, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Laboratory results in June revealed that helium concentrations at the Minnesota site are the highest the industry has ever seen, at up to 14.5%.