With the sale of the US Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) helium assets tentatively scheduled for late Q3 or Q4, the industry’s leading helium suppliers are understood to be mounting a coordinated effort to delay the sale.
The Helium Stewardship Act of 2013 required that the BLM’s helium assets be declared as excess and disposed of (privatized) by no later than September 30, 2021. The assets to be sold include the mineral rights to the Bush Dome Reservoir, the remaining crude helium in the Federal Helium Reserve (~2 BCF), the 425-mile pipeline that connects the Federal Reserve to privately-owned natural gas processing plants and helium refining facilities, the Cliffside Plant facility, including gas wells and pipelines, central compression equipment, the Satanta Maintenance Station, and various other assets.
The Crude Helium Enrichment Unit (CHEU), which purifies the crude helium as it is removed from the Federal Reserve and delivered into the BLM Pipeline to around 80% purity would not be included in the asset sale, as it is owned by Cliffside Refiners Limited Partnership (CRLP) and leased to the BLM.
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