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Utah Geological Survey PROVEN AND HYPOTHETICAL HELIUM RESOURCES IN UTAH by Tyler J. Wiseman and Marc T. Eckels MISCELLANEOUS PUBLICATION 174 SCHOOL AND INSTITUTIONAL TRUST LANDS ADMINISTRATION Produced in collaboration with UTAH GEOLOGICAL SURVEY UTAH DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES 2020 Blank pages are intentional for printing purposes. PROVEN AND HYPOTHETICAL HELIUM RESOURCES IN UTAH by Tyler J. Wiseman 1 and Marc T. Eckels 2 1 Utah Trust Lands Administration, Salt Lake City, Utah 2 Consultant, Park City, Utah Cover photo: Lisbon gas processing facility in San Juan County, Utah. This plant recently re-started processing helium. Suggested citation: Wiseman, T.J., and Eckels, M.T., 2020, Proven and hypothetical helium resources in Utah: Utah Geological Survey Miscellaneous Publication 174, 44 p., 1 plate, scale 1:850,000, https://doi.org/10.34191/MP-174. MISCELLANEOUS PUBLICATION 174 SCHOOL AND INSTITUTIONAL TRUST LANDS ADMINISTRATION Produced in collaboration with UTAH GEOLOGICAL SURVEY UTAH DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES 2020 STATE OF UTAH Gary R. Herbert, Governor DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES Brian Steed, Executive Director UTAH GEOLOGICAL SURVEY R. William Keach II, Director PUBLICATIONS contact Natural Resources Map & Bookstore 1594 W. North Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84116 telephone: 801-537-3320 toll-free: 1-888-UTAH MAP website: utahmapstore.com email: [email protected] UTAH GEOLOGICAL SURVEY contact 1594 W. North Temple, Suite 3110 Salt Lake City, UT 84116 telephone: 801-537-3300 website: geology.utah.gov The Miscellaneous Publication series provides non-UGS authors with a high-quality format for documents concerning Utah geology. Although review comments have been incorporated, this document does not necessarily conform to UGS technical, editorial, or policy standards. The Utah Department of Natural Resources, Utah Geological Survey, makes no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding the suitability of this product for a particular use. The Utah Department of Natural Resources, Utah Geological Survey, shall not be liable under any circumstances for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages with respect to claims by users of this product. CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................................ 1 Helium Migration .................................................................................................................................................................. 4 Helium on the Colorado Plateau ............................................................................................................................................ 6 Helium Extraction and Production ...................................................................................................................................... 10 Historical Account of the Federal Helium Program ............................................................................................................. 11 Helium Leasing and Regulations in Utah ............................................................................................................................ 15 Helium Trends in Utah and Vicinity .................................................................................................................................... 15 PROSPECTIVE HELIUM PLAYS ............................................................................................................................................ 21 Application of Data .............................................................................................................................................................. 22 Big Flat Area, Grand County ............................................................................................................................................... 23 Boundary Butte Area, San Juan County – Navajo Nation ................................................................................................... 24 Bowknot Prospect, Emery County ...................................................................................................................................... 26 Clay Basin Field, Daggett County ....................................................................................................................................... 27 Grassy Trail Area, Carbon & Emery County ....................................................................................................................... 27 Greater Cisco Area, Grand County ...................................................................................................................................... 28 Harley Dome Field, Grand County ...................................................................................................................................... 29 Lisbon Area, San Juan County ............................................................................................................................................. 30 Salt Wash Area, Grand County ............................................................................................................................................ 34 San Arroyo Area, Grand County .......................................................................................................................................... 35 Temple Springs Prospect, Emery County ............................................................................................................................ 35 Woodside Dome Field, Emery County ................................................................................................................................ 36 Wildcat Helium Prospects.................................................................................................................................................... 37 CONCLUSIONS......................................................................................................................................................................... 38 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................................................................................................................... 38 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................................................... 39 APPENDIX ................................................................................................................................................................................. 44 FIGURES Figure 1. Helium trends and basin distribution in the contiguous United States and Canada ...................................................... 2 Figure 2. Estimated global helium supply vs. demand forecast ................................................................................................... 2 Figure 3. Major helium-bearing natural gas fields in the United States ....................................................................................... 3 Figure 4. Area reference map for the BLM-operated crude helium pipeline in the Panhandle-Hugoton gas field complex near Amarillo, Texas ............................................................................................................................................... 4 Figure 5. Diagrammatic cross section of a helium system ........................................................................................................... 5 Figure 6. Generalized helium system model with emphasis on generation and migration .......................................................... 6 Figure 7. Typical generation rates for helium in average rocks ................................................................................................... 6 Figure 8. General area and structure map of the Colorado Plateau .............................................................................................. 7 Figure 9. Relationship of Colorado Plateau monoclines to faulted basement rock ...................................................................... 8 Figure 10. Helium migration models ............................................................................................................................................ 9 Figure 11. Natural carbon dioxide gas reservoirs and associated infrastructure reference map ................................................. 10 Figure 12. General area map of the Colorado Plateau with emphasis on basement lineaments and structural geometries ....... 11 Figure 13. Graduated symbol map illustrating documented high-helium gas accumulations vs. sample depth throughout the Colorado Plateau and Rocky Mountain regions ........................................................................................................ 12 Figure 14. Typical block diagram for nitrogen and helium recovery from natural gas .............................................................. 12 Figure 15. Image of ExxonMobil’s large-scale Shute Creek gas plant in southwestern Wyoming (top) and IACX’s small-scale Harley Dome field helium plant in Grand County, Utah (bottom) ......................................................... 13 Figure 16. Area reference map for the Lisbon gas
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