Nov 28 (Reuters) - Reliance Industries' U.S.

unit has bought a 21% stake in U.S.-based helium production

company Wavetech Helium for $12 million, the conglomerate said

on Thursday, in a move aimed at expanding its low-carbon energy

segment.

The billionaire Mukesh Ambani-run group, which operates

the world's biggest oil refining complex at Jamnagar in the

western Indian state of Gujarat, announced in 2021 investments

worth $10 billion to develop its green energy portfolio and

achieve its 2035 net zero carbon goal.

Helium gas, a by-product of mining natural gas, is used in

several green technologies, as well as in medical applications,

scientific research, aerospace and aeronautics, electronics,

fibre optics, among others.