Helium Exploration
HELIUM RESOURCE
ASSESSMENT
Before a helium play justifies a well, a completion, or an acquisition price, it needs a grade. BSI supplies the measurement that sets it: the He-3/He-4 isotope ratio in your gas, with He-4 concentration analysis on well gas available in the same pass.
The Deliverable
What a helium resource assessment answers
A full assessment blends geology, reservoir engineering, and gas composition. The composition questions are the ones a measurement lab can close, and they are the ones that most directly move a valuation:
Helium concentration
How much helium is in the raw gas stream, in the parts-per-thousand-to-percent range that determines whether extraction pays for itself.
He-3/He-4 ratio
The isotope ratio that separates an ordinary helium play from an exceptional one, and hints at the helium's geologic source.
Consistency across samples
Whether the ratio and concentration hold across wells, zones, and time — the signal that a resource is real and not a single lucky sample.
The Grading Number
Why the isotope ratio is the number that grades the play
Helium-4 is a commodity. Helium-3 is not — it trades orders of magnitude higher because of demand in neutron detection, cryogenics, and medical imaging, and there is no easy way to make more of it. A gas stream carrying even a small He-3 fraction can be worth far more per unit than its He-4 content alone suggests.
That is why the He-3/He-4 ratio is BSI's primary deliverable. It is also the harder number to get right: He-3 and HD (hydrogen deuteride) sit only about 0.006 amu apart, and an instrument that cannot resolve them reports He-3 values inflated by hydrogen. BSI measures the ratio with FT-ICR mass spectrometry at resolving power well above 10,000 at mass 3 and 4.
He-4 concentration on well gas is the straightforward companion measurement, and we run it on the same sample when you want the full composition picture.
What BSI reports
- balanceHe-3/He-4 ratio in your gas, resolved cleanly from HD interference
- percentHe-4 concentration on well gas, on request, from the same sample
- scienceMethod and conditions documented so results stand up in a data room
- forumA call with our team to put the numbers in the context of your play
Questions & Answers
Helium resource assessment FAQ
What is a helium resource assessment?
A helium resource assessment is the evaluation used to decide whether a gas accumulation is worth developing for helium. It combines the helium concentration in the gas stream, the He-3/He-4 isotope ratio, and reservoir and production data into a grade for the play. BSI supplies the measurement side: the He-3/He-4 ratio and, on well gas, the He-4 concentration.
Why does the He-3/He-4 ratio matter when grading a helium play?
He-3 sells for orders of magnitude more than He-4, so even trace He-3 changes the economics of a play. The He-3/He-4 ratio also carries geologic information about the helium source. Measuring it before capital is committed turns a helium prospect from a guess into a graded asset.
Do you measure He-4 as well as He-3?
Yes. The He-3/He-4 ratio is our main value proposition, but we are happy to run He-4 concentration analysis on well gas as part of the same assessment.
How is He-3 separated from HD during the measurement?
He-3 (3.016 amu) and HD (3.022 amu) differ by only about 0.006 amu. BSI uses FT-ICR mass spectrometry, which reaches resolving power well above 10,000 at mass 3 and 4 — far more than the ~520 needed to separate the two peaks — so the He-3 signal is not inflated by hydrogen deuteride.
What sample do you need for a helium resource assessment?
A representative gas sample in an appropriate sealed vessel. Contact BSI to confirm sample volume, container type, and shipping before you collect, and to get current turnaround and pricing.
Grade the play before you commit the capital
Send us a gas sample and we will return the He-3/He-4 ratio, He-4 concentration on request, and a call to walk through what the numbers mean for your resource.