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Hydrogen + Helium Case Files

Two Plays, One Message: Always Run Dual Gas Assays

Mali proved pure hydrogen can accumulate under igneous lids. Nebraska shows helium can bankroll hydrogen pilots. Together they define why modern explorers treat H₂ and He as a single structural play with split economics.

Use these case studies to brief subsurface, policy, and finance teams before staking acreage or designing MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification) plans.

Bourakébougou, Mali — Pure Hydrogen Prototype

98% hydrogen, igneous seal, zero helium

Key Moves

  • Discovered accidentally in 1987 when a village water well ignited; re-opened by Petroma/Hydroma in 2011 with full gas analysis.
  • Production tests confirmed ~98% hydrogen with only trace nitrogen and methane, proving that active generation plus a perfect seal can stockpile H₂.
  • Paleoproterozoic basement rocks weathering beneath the site drive serpentinization/radiolysis; stacked dolerite sills act as ultra-tight traps that continuously recharge.
  • Key insight: igneous seals (dolerite) can preserve hydrogen over geologic time, so any helium province with similar seals deserves a dual H₂/He evaluation.

What We Learned

  • Mali proved the physics: hydrogen can accumulate if the charge never stops and the seal is igneous-tight.
  • Helium absence shows you can have pure H₂ systems—use them as analogs for seal risk when scouting helium terrains.
  • Enabled off-grid power for Bourakébougou, demonstrating local monetization before export markets exist.

Nebraska & Mid-Continent Rift — Economic Hybrid

Mixed hydrogen-helium with helium as the anchor

Key Moves

  • Exploration along the Nemaha Uplift / Mid-Continent Rift targets iron-rich volcanic sequences overlain by tight salt and anhydrite.
  • Hydrogen originates from serpentinization within the rift volcanics, while surrounding granitic basement contributes helium via radiogenic decay.
  • Wells routinely encounter mixed gas streams where hydrogen ranges from notable to dominant, and helium clocks in at 1–4%, considered high-grade for helium sales.
  • Helium revenue (>$400/Mcf) covers drilling and processing, buying time for hydrogen markets (ammonia, local industry) to mature.

What We Learned

  • Anchoring economics on helium lets operators appraise hydrogen upside with materially lower risk.
  • Shared migration pathways mean soil-gas helium anomalies can indicate hydrogen accumulations beneath the same seal.
  • Creates a playbook for Rockies/New Mexico style provinces with old basement + tight seals: test both gases every time.

Quick Comparison

Pure hydrogen vs hybrid hydrogen-helium

Feature
Mali (Bourakébougou)
Nebraska / Mid-Continent
Primary Gas
~98% hydrogen (virtually pure).
Mixed stream: hydrogen plus 1–4% helium.
Geologic Driver
Active serpentinization/radiolysis in Paleoproterozoic basement.
Serpentinization within rift volcanics + radiogenic helium from granites.
Seal
Stacked dolerite sills (igneous, ultra-tight).
Salt, anhydrite, and tight shale sequences.
Commercial Model
Local hydrogen-to-power for village electrification.
Helium cash flow funds wells; hydrogen rides along as medium-term upside.

Mali is the proof-of-concept for pure hydrogen systems; Nebraska is the template for helium-backed appraisal. Both must be in your analog deck before committing rigs.

Exploration Notes

Translate lessons into workflows

If you are mapping old granitic basement (Rockies, New Mexico, western Kansas), assume a Nebraska-style mixed system and assay for both gases.
Soil-gas helium anomalies should trigger deeper hydrogen testing—the same seal that preserves helium can trap hydrogen just below it.
Model helium as a finite mineral reserve with established pricing, but treat hydrogen volumes using recharge scenarios or conventional reserve math depending on basin kinetics.

Next diagnostic step: evaluate downhole sensor suites (Raman, mass spec, laser-based tools) that can distinguish H₂ from He in real time and avoid misreads from conventional hydrocarbon logging equipment.

Instrument Challenges

Why legacy sensors misread hydrogen and helium

Standard mud-logging suites were built for methane and ethane, so the super-light behavior of H₂ and He overwhelms their thermal conductivity detectors. Without upgrades you either get false positives or miss entire pay zones.

Thermal conductivity detectors see massive spikes for both gases; swapping to argon/nitrogen carrier gas plus a molecular sieve column in the gas chromatograph is the minimum to split the peaks.
Combine palladium-based H₂ sensors with conventional TCDs: a joint signal means hydrogen, a TCD-only spike signals helium hiding in the stream.
Mass spectrometry and NMR logs provide definitive separation—mass 2 vs mass 4 topside, proton-rich vs proton-free signatures downhole—preventing helium-heavy zones from masquerading as hydrogen or vice versa.

Takeaway: upgrade surface chromatographs, add selective solid-state sensors, and plan for NMR validation if neutron/density crossovers show “super-gas” responses.

Need deeper instrumentation or case-study decks?

Emailinfo@envitrace.comto get the Mali logging suite breakdown, Nebraska helium assay workflows, or to schedule a hydrogen-helium exploration workshop.