A decision by the U.S. government to get out of the commercial helium business in the next five years has refiners and customers looking to Canada to fill their helium needs.
A majority of the U.S. helium demand is filled by an underground reserve in Amarillo, Texas. The reserve supplies everything from party balloons to magnetic resonance imaging or MRI machines.
But when the federal government gets out of controlling the helium supplies, more interest will likely be in the wheat fields of Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada. Just a few months ago, Virginia-based Weil Group Resources opened Canada’s only high-grade helium plant near the village of Mankota, Saskatechewan. It’s a $10 million project that can produce 40 million cubic feet a year for the German industrial gas company Linde AG. And another plan is soon to follow in Alberta.
“I believe southwest Saskatechewan and southeast Alberta to be prolific future helium producers,” said Bo Sears, president of Weil Helium.
Helium is a $4.7 billion industry, according to Mordor Intelligence but high prices have forced small players to explore fields of helium-bearing gas once considered too expensive to exploit.
The interest is growing in Canada. Saskatchewan issued 17 permits and leases from 2014 to January 2016 for helium, according to a report by Reuters. One firm that opened a lower-grade helium plant in Saskatechewan three years ago is planning two more plants within two years.