US Energy Corporation has acquired land in Montana as part of its goal to produce helium around the Kevin Dome structure in Toole County.

The news was confirmed by a signed agreement with Wavetech Helium, which controls helium gas reserves in Colorado, Kansas and Montana. The acquired land is believed to have several promising helium yield zones, consisting mainly of inert nitrogen and carbon dioxide-rich zones.

The US energy company plans to start construction work on the Wavetech plant at the end of July/beginning of August 2024.

Ryan Smith, CEO of US Energy Corporation, said: “The Company is confident in its position to capitalize on what we believe is a breakthrough resource and economic opportunity in an area where we have long had a community presence.”

He continued: “Simply put, we believe the Kevin Dome structure has tremendous resource potential and can compete economically with any site in North America in terms of the overall helium cycle.”

In addition to its agreement with Wavetech, US Energy Corporation has also signed a non-binding letter of intent with Synergy Offshore to acquire compensatory areas.

The area covered by the contract covers a largely contiguous area of ​​approximately 164,000 net acres in the Kevin Dome and is believed to contain many potential helium yield zones.

In announcing its news, US Energy Corporation cited issues in the helium supply chain, such as global shipping disruptions and trade restrictions affecting supplies from abroad.

Earlier this month (June 2024), the Council of the European Union (EU) announced that its 14th^th The sanctions package against Russia includes, as widely expected, a ban on imports of Russian helium into the EU.

The import ban will come into force on September 26, 2024.

According to the European Commission, the new package responds to needs and insights on the ground and addresses enforcement issues. It includes important new energy-related measures targeting liquefied natural gas (LNG) as well as measures against ships supporting Russia's war.

Read more: Latest EU sanctions package bans Russian helium imports