University-Industry collaboration drives helium exploration breakthrough
Minnesota Appraisal Campaign Confirms High‑Pressure Gas in Three New Wells
Pulsar Helium has drilled three new wells at its Topaz Project in Minnesota, each showing evidence of high-pressure gas, the company said. The wells, sited between 3,000 and 5,000 feet, form part of an ongoing exploration and appraisal programme and will be tested in the coming months.
The campaign follows the 2024 Jetstream‑1 well, which confirmed an average helium concentration of 8% in gas samples. That figure is well above the 0.3% level typically required for economic viability. The resource sits within the Duluth Complex, one of the world’s largest igneous formations.
Pulsar recruited Nick Schofield, Professor of Igneous and Petroleum Geology at the University of Aberdeen, last year under a secondment arrangement. He now serves as Chief Geologist, overseeing subsurface data interpretation, well and corehole planning, and seismic acquisition. Schofield’s analysis was central to selecting the three new drill sites.
The story began in 2011 when a mineral exploration company drilling for nickel in Minnesota hit high-pressure gas at about 530 metres. The gas escaped the borehole unconstrained, and rudimentary analysis confirmed high helium levels. That company was not Pulsar Helium.
Minnesota has no prior history of producing gas from below the surface. Schofield and his Pulsar colleagues have been working with state entities to establish frameworks for helium development. Testing the withdrawal process for these frameworks has been part of the broader effort.
The project targets primary helium, meaning helium that is not a byproduct of natural gas. Schofield said the occurrence at Topaz contains negligible hydrocarbons. He added that helium is used in MRI scanners, microchip production and as a mix for deep-sea divers (Heliox), and described it as essential for the green energy transition and new technologies.
“Pulsar aims to change that by developing Topaz which is a primary helium occurrence with negligible hydrocarbons,” Schofield said. Current helium supply is constrained because it is mainly a byproduct of natural gas production.
The Duluth Complex, hosting the resource, had previously revealed few of its subsurface characteristics. Schofield said the new work and data reveal many previously unknown aspects of the formation, and he plans to publish some of the findings with Pulsar colleagues.
All three wells so far show high-pressure gas. The next phase involves testing those intervals. The wells lie within a belt where subsurface interpretation pointed to prospective zones for helium accumulation. Pulsar has not disclosed results from downhole measurements yet.
Schofield described the secondment as opening a new geological frontier and allowing integration of cutting‑edge research into real‑world resource development. The work continues with further drilling and analysis planned as the company moves toward appraisal of the Minnesota discovery.
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