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Helium, many people might not realize how important helium is, its more than just a balloon filler, or a funny gas to breath at parties. Helium is used in lots of things around the world like, airships, balloons, rockets, nuclear reactors, and much more. Since its used so widely around the world there is a huge demand for it. In Russian there is 1 third of the world helium in the many deposits around Russia. The Kovyktinskoye condensate gas deposit in Irkutsk Oblast(Russia) has a huge deposit of Helium. The Kovyktinskoye deposit is split between many major energy companies like BP. Russia is currently going through a energy revolution "Energy Strategy of Russia till 2020" that will make Russia one of the largest producers and suppliers of helium in the world.

Recently Alexander Ananenkov, the Deputy President of Gazprom the largest energy company in Russia. He believes that natural gas shouldn't be immediately transported in its original state but broken down to get to the accompanying components, namely methane, propane, butane, and especially helium.

Currently in Russia there is not the kind of infrastructure available to mine, brake down, and store these precious gases. so first there needs to be new storage faculties and refineries set up to increase production.

Russia is now currently researching a new way to start mining the moon. the moon has a huge deposit of helium-3 a rare form that is hard to find on earth currently u will have 1 helium-3 atom for every 1 million helium-4 atoms. Energisa, the Russian spacecraft manufacture currently is researching the program, and plans to start the first stage of the project in 2010-2015. by sending up the piloted Soyuz-FG and Proton carrier rockets. to begin this process.

i used these links to write this article so for more info please visit these sights -
http://www.energypulse.net/ce nters/article/article_display. cfm?a_id=1316
http://www.upi.co m/NewsTrack/Top_News/2006/05/1 8/russian_builder_wants_to_min e_moon_helium/5212/
http://en.w ikipedia.org/wiki/Helium#Isoto pes
http://www.gasandoil.com/go c/news/ntr94576.htm

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