Helium supplies at risk from plunging oil prices

Professor Jon Gluyas from our Durham Energy Institute explains why this is bad news for the coronavirus effort. Oil prices have plummeted as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. While the world needs far less oil than it used to, the decline in oil production will have a severe knock-on effect that could hinder efforts to combat COVID-19. This is because an important by-product of petroleum production is helium, which has various medical uses, including those related to breathing issues. On April 1, scientists at the University of Arizona College of Medicine reported on the invention of a new breathing device that has potential to help patients suffering with lung damage to recover from COVID-19 using a mix of oxygen and helium gases called heliox. Heliox has about the same viscosity as normal air but lower density, and the way it flows requires much less energy for the lungs to take in the oxygen it carries than is the case for air. The gas is non-toxic and non-reactive so is already beginning to be used to help people with asthma and a range of other conditions in which patients have breathing difficulties.