The United States and Qatar account for most of the world's helium. However, according to The New York Times, Russia seeks to become a major exporter from next year, APA reports.
The article reads that a large helium-producing enterprise in Siberia is under construction, and the Russian helium may soon be used all over the world. It can unbalance the global market for this lighter-than-air gas playing an increasingly important role in areas such as medicine, space exploration, and national security, some analysts say.
The prospects for this market are enormous since helium is an exhaustible resource. It is obtained as a by-product in natural gas extraction, but its reserves are small since it quickly escapes into space.
Meanwhile, Siberia has some of the world's largest new natural gas reserves with a high helium content, and Russia is preparing for a significant increase in production. After reaching full production capacity in the middle of this decade, the Gazprom plant under construction expects to produce 25-30% of helium in the world.
Follow us on Telegram
t.me/apanewsaz
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
