Helium has previously been listed as a critical mineral by the United States government and represents an important feedstock for critical industries and applications including aerospace, medical imaging devices, and specialty welding applications. The US has a well-developed helium infrastructure and historically good data collection which enabled it to become a predominate producer of helium; much initially based in the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles and Kansas. A major producing field and location of key infrastructure is Keyes Field in Cimarron County, Oklahoma. Wells that identified helium (≥2%) were drilled in the 1950s with off and on helium production for the next several decades. Advanced Hydrocarbon Stratigraphy (AHS) partnered with the Oklahoma Geological Survey to examine cores from the Keyes Field early in its life cycle and after a decade of production. AHS significantly improved its Rock Volatiles Stratigraphy (RVS) technology to measure sub-nanomole quantities of helium from rock samples. We report, to our knowledge, the first quantitative measurements of helium from core samples being several decades old; 69 years at time of analysis. These data are likely from the pores of the rock samples, not fluid inclusions; core from a well offset to a producing well drilled 10+ years prior shows fractionation signatures from gas production and correspondingly low helium. Additional key observations are the ability to identify low water content by RVS measurements and helium can be best preserved in “tighter” rock of poorer reservoir quality. This presents a usable workflow for RVS studies utilizing legacy samples—identifying enhanced helium responses in/below sealing features with low water content in the reservoir below the seal. Utilizing legacy materials from state surveys in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas has important implications for continued use of the existing helium infrastructure as fields mature and presents an important tool for future helium exploration.

BIOGRAPHY: Christopher Smith has been a Senior Chemist with Advanced Hydrocarbon Stratigraphy (AHS) since January 2019 and recently moved to Midland working on data analysis, instrumentation (including possible well stie instruments), client engagements, and business development. Most of his analysis work focuses on the North Slope in Alaska, the Delaware Basin, the Anadarko and Arkoma basins in Oklahoma, and the Marcellus. Prior to working for AHS, he received his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Arizona in the Winter 2018 term with focuses on instrumentation, data analysis programing, spectroscopy, electrophysiology, surfactants, and surface modification chemistries. He also completed an M.A. in History at the University of Tulsa as a Henneke Research Fellow in 2012. He completed his undergraduate work cum laude in 2011 with degrees in Chemistry, History, and Biochemistry, also from the University of Tulsa.