Helium Fact Sheet

• Helium is a limited, natural resource.
• Helium is the second lightest element. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless inert gas at room temperature and atmopheric pressure.
• Helium is present in dry air at a concentration of 0.0005%.
• On Earth it is created by the radioactive decay of uranium and thorium.
• In our atmosphere, the amount of helium by volume is only 5.2 ppm (vs Argon at .93%)
• Natural gas can contain helium under certain geological conditions and is the principal source for helium. Helium is extracted from the crude natural gas stream and purified.
• The amounts range from trace levels to about 5% by volume.
• Helium can be stored and shipped either as a gas or a cryogenic liquid.
• Its low specific gravity and nonflammability allow its use in lighter than air applications such as balloons and blimps.
• The Helium Act of 1925, authorized the US. Bureau of Mines to build and operate a large-scale helium extraction and purification plant. It paid dividends quickly as it provided the US and its World War II allies a critical supply of helium.
• By the mid-1950s, as natural gas demand increased, some helium-rich sources began to dwindle. At this time, US natural gas demand increased so dramatically much of the nation’s potential helium reserves were being vented to the air.
• The Helium Act Amendments of 1960 came the privatization of helium. The US Congress then provided incentives to natural gas producers to strip helium from natural gas and sell it to the United States for long-term, strategic storage.
• Without the foresight of the US Congress and The 1960 Act, US industry might have had to rely on foreign sourced supplies of helium with the possibility of more frequent supply interruptions, plus the potential of foreign price cartels and geopolitical supply situations similar to what we experience with the supply oil today.
• The Helium Privatization Act of 1996 was signed by President Clinton on October 9, 1996.
• This law directed the US Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) to cease pure helium production and to offer for sale the approximately 29+ Billion Cubic Feet (BCF) of crude helium (CHe) in the Federal Reserve.
• The Federal reserve fields contained about 25.5 billion cubic feet (Bcf) at end fiscal year 2005.
• The United States represents 21% of the world’s known helium reserves. It produces 77% percent of the world’s annual consumption.
• Helium produced in Algeria, Poland and Russia is sold almost exclusively into European markets, and helium produced in Qatar is sold exclusively into Asian markets. These countries combined own 79% of the worldwide helium reserves yet produce only 23%.
• According to the US Department of Commerce, U.S. domestic consumption of helium declined between 2000 and 2005 at an average of 2.3% per year.
• Exports however, increased at an average rate of 7.5% per year over the same five year period, reflecting demand increases in emerging economies where helium is not produced.
• In 2005, US consumption decreased 4.7 percent, but exports increased by 16.9%.