What's new in production

 Vol. 232 No.8

Considering it is the second most abundant substance in the universe, it seems strange to be talking about a helium shortage. But the facts are: 1) you can’t make the stuff—outside of a hydrogen bomb, at least; 2) supplies of helium are quite limited on Earth; and 3) helium is very useful. These add up to a supply problem in the not-distant future.

Helium is the noblest of the noble gases, so inert and non-reactive that its discovery depended on the invention of the spectrograph or spectrometer, and its discoverers were astronomers.

The thin yellow line. Spectral lines in sunlight were described early in the 19th century, but it wasn’t until the 1850s that scientists Gustav Kirchhoff and Robert Bunsen (of burner fame) proved that the emission lines were produced by specific elements. When spectrometers were pointed toward the solar corona, a narrow yellow band was observed that did not correspond to any known element. The English chemist Edward Frankland called the new substance helium, after the Greek name for the sun. Later, it was proved to be a component of the atmosphere, though a tiny one—5.2 parts per million.

The reason helium is such a small slice of the air pie is that it inevitably rises to the top. Once it is released into the atmosphere—from a natural vent or a leaky cryogenics tank or from the lungs of somebody who wants to talk like Simon Chipmunk—it’s gone, never to be recovered.

The other natural gas. All the helium on Earth is of the fossil variety. It is the result of decay of naturally occurring radioactive material. Atomic decay of unstable isotopes deep underground, usually uranium, results in alpha radiation, ions of two neutrons and two protons. These quickly acquire electrons and become stable helium atoms (helium-4), and often end up in association with hydrocarbon gases in natural gas reservoirs.

A huge natural gas discovery near Dexter, Kansas, in 1903 caused great excitement among its investors. This quickly turned to disappointment when analysis showed the gas to contain only 15% methane. The rest was nitrogen—and a flabbergasting 2% helium. Subsequently, helium was discovered in gas wells all over Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and the Texas panhandle. Just a few years earlier, helium had been considered one of the rarest elements, and suddenly it was abundant.

Ballooning production. Lighter-than-air craft in WWI used hydrogen for lift. The gas was cheap and easily obtained, but inconveniently explosive. Thousands of blimps and balloons were constructed anyway, making easy and spectacular targets for air aces like Frank Luke, Jr., the “Arizona balloon buster.” Helium was an obvious substitute, but at the time was selling for $2,500 per cubic foot.

The US government recognized the need for large-scale helium production, and for the first time began to consider it a “strategic” commodity. The first production-scale plant was built in Fort Worth, Texas, under the jurisdiction of the US Navy. In 1925, the US passed the Helium Conservation Act, taking control of all the nation’s helium resources.

Production in the meantime soared. More discoveries were made, and a second plant was built near Amarillo, Texas, to be closer to the largest helium-rich gas field, Cliffside. Within a few years, the price had fallen to 3¢ per cubic foot. The Fort Worth plant was closed, and for several decades, almost all the world’s helium was produced within a 250-mile radius of Amarillo.

Helium for sale. As the blimp market deflated, helium gained new roles as the nation drifted into the Cold War and Space Age. The inert gas is used to flush liquid fuel tanks in rockets, and is critical for missile defense. In 1960 the US government created the National Helium Reserve, utilizing the partly depleted Cliffside field to store semi-refined gas. By 1995, over 1 billion cubic meters had been injected.

The end of the Cold War meant a significant drop in demand. Privatization fever inspired Congress to pass a law in 1996 mandating that the Bureau of Land Management sell off the reserve’s stocks. Not everybody thinks this is a great idea. Demand is rising again: Helium has found new uses as a super-coolant in MRI machines, atomic colliders and other devices, and in computer chip manufacturing.

The other helium. Almost all fossil helium is the isotope helium-4. But the other variety, helium-3 (with only one neutron) is critical for the oil and gas industry, as it is used in neutron detectors for well logging. The US Department of Energy controls the very limited stockpile of helium-3, and divvies it up to national security, medical and oilfield customers as it sees fit. Supplies have been described as being in “crisis” mode for the past couple of years. The DOE has allocated just 1,000 liters for petroleum in 2011, and has been soliciting comments from companies about their future needs, with an eye to reallocating the supplies. Since the oil and gas industry uses, but does not produce, helium-3 (it is a byproduct of nuclear power and weaponry), it’s a subject for a future column.

New sources. Currently, the mandated price of helium-4 is $75/Mcf, still pretty cheap. The open market matches that pretty closely, but the stocks are shrinking faster than they’re being replenished; at current rates the reserve will be gone by about 2020. Algeria now supplies most of Europe’s needs, and plants are coming onstream in Qatar, Russia and some other places to meet rising Asian demand. New technologies in helium capture and recycle, especially helium-3, are being developed. Even so, the US will likely be a net importer of helium within 20 years (as several panicky headlines have exhaled lately). New US supplies may be found, but price will be volatile and higher.

No, it won’t be the end of helium. With some smarts and conservation, we’ll have it as long as we need it. But we are approaching the end of cheap, fun helium. Sorry, kids. 

henry.terrell@gulfpub.com