Iran has launched its first pilot project for extracting and purifying helium from natural gas.
Mohammad Eslami, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), announced the operational launch of the project in Tehran on Wednesday, according to the Mehr news agency.
“Today, we witnessed the opening and commissioning of the pilot project to extract and purify helium from natural gas. After the completion of the project and the establishment of the first factory to churn out this product, Iran will join the list of countries that produce purified helium from natural gas,” he added.
Pointing to the AEOI’s roadmap prepared in coordination with the Oil Ministry, Eslami said, “We will work to build a plant with the specified design capacity.”
Iran’s nuclear chief added, “In complementary steps, we can turn to the export of this product and make larger investments. In this way, the country can benefit from the income share and the domestic and export market within the framework of the knowledge-based economy.”
Eslami stressed that the technical know-how of the project was developed in collaboration with an Iranian university, with all necessary components and equipment manufactured by the AEOI and supplied through the country’s domestic engineering network.
He also said the amount of extracted and purified helium will meet Iran’s annual demand, obviating the need for imports, with the Islamic Republic also planning for exports in the future.
Should Iran be able to commercialise helium, it would raise the economic and geopolitical stakes with Qatar. South Pars is the world’s largest gas field, covering around 3,700sq km and accounting for around 8% of the world’s reserves.
Commenting on LinkedIn, Phil Kornbluth, of Kornbluth Helium Consulting, said, “While this sounds like a small gas-only project for Iran’s domestic market, Iran’s South Pars field is the same field that Qatar produces helium from (although the Qataris call it the North Field). Similar to Qatar, Iran as very large reserves of helium-bearing natural gas and has the potential to be a large supplier someday.”
According to the Iran Open Data Center, Iran lost out on an opportunity to play a role in the global helium business that opened up in 2017, when Saudi Arabia and the UAE cut off diplomatic relations with Qatar.
“That year – and months before the United States reimposed sanctions on Iran – Qatar blocked its helium land export routes to Fujairah. However, Iran failed to use that opportunity to seize a portion of this multi-billion-dollar global business. Instead, it continues to import its helium, while sitting on probably the third-largest helium reserves in the world,” it states.
