The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) today launched a pilot project to extract helium from natural gas at Kuthalam in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu.

The project was set up with an initial investment of Rs6.5 crore. Once the pilot project proves successful, ONGC would invest more for commercial production of helium, ONGC chairman and managing director R S Sharma said while inaugurating the plant.

The project, the first of its kind in India, uses a four-stage pressure swing adsorption technique to extract helium from natural gas.

''ONGC had launched the project with technical assistance from the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics and the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, in an ambitious effort to extract and purify helium from natural gas available in the collection station at Kuthalam," said Sharma.

''Helium is mainly used as a coolant in atomic reactors. The plant at Kuthalam could play a significant role in ensuring the energy security of the nation," Sharma said.

Helium has many applications, including in space technology, cryogenics and atomic reactors.

India's annual helium requirement of around 180,000 cubic metres is currently met through imports at a cost of nearly $2 per cubic metre.

Global supply of helium is fast depleting and the gap between demand and supply is growing at an alarming rate.

The plant was designed, manufactured and installed by the Adsorption Research Incorporated, (ARC) of the US.

The project, launched at Kuthalam, is an important step towards assimilating new technology to make India self-reliant in helium.