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19. März 2024 · North American Helium Inc. is engaged in the exploration, development, production, refining and marketing of helium in North America. We have assembled a package of over one million acres of helium mineral rights in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.
- About Us
North American Helium is a Calgary-based private helium...
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North American Helium has the largest contiguous helium land...
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Sustainability This is a pivotal time for the helium...
- About Helium
Helium is relatively scarce on Earth, even though it is the...
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North American Helium Is Constructing Two New Helium...
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In 2024, NAH will be actively engaged in exploration,...
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25. Feb. 2024 · The US is one of the largest consumers of helium, but it’s also a leading producer. For decades, the global helium market was closely tied to the US government, which began stockpiling helium...
- Amy Nordrum
- Overview
- Other sources of helium
- Helium in health and science
- MRIs of the future
On Thursday, the U.S. government sold the Federal Helium Reserve, a massive underground stockpile based in Amarillo, Texas, that supplies up to 30% of the country’s helium.
Once the deal is finalized, the buyer — which will likely be the highest bidder, the industrial gas company Messer — will claim some 425 miles of pipelines spanning Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma, plus about 1 billion cubic feet of the only element on Earth cold enough to make an MRI machine work.
Regulatory and logistical issues with the facility threaten a temporary shutdown as it passes from public to private ownership, and hospital supply chain experts worry the sale could have serious consequences for health care down the road — especially when it comes to MRIs.
To be sure, a Federal Helium Reserve shutdown wouldn’t mean that MRIs would suddenly power down across the country, said Soumi Saha, senior vice president of government affairs at Premier Inc., which contracts with helium suppliers on behalf of 4,400 hospitals in the U.S. “But we are stressing about this shortage. From a health care perspective, MRI machines are the No. 1 concern.”
American patients undergo an estimated 40 million MRI scans each year to help diagnose cancer, brain and spinal cord injuries, strokes and heart conditions. The superconductive magnet-powered imaging machines give doctors clear, high-resolution images of areas inside the body they can’t see on X-rays and CT scans. But without liquid helium, the Earth’s coldest element, MRI machines can’t keep their magnets cool enough to generate these images.
The sale of the government’s stockpile of the nonrenewable element could exacerbate an existing supply shortage, Saha said.
There’s a finite amount of helium on Earth. The largest reserves are in massive underground pockets in parts of Algeria, Qatar, Russia and the U.S.
While the Texas stockpile is the largest source of helium in the U.S., it’s not the only one. There are a number of smaller, privately owned facilities — some of which are in Colorado and Wyoming — according to Gottwald.
Sourcing helium inside the U.S. or from Canada is the easiest and cheapest option. Transit time is an important factor: If the shipment takes longer than 35 to 48 days, the liquid helium will evaporate.
The two other biggest helium reserves are in Qatar and Russia.
“Shutting down the U.S. helium reserve would force a situation where we would have to increase our reliance on foreign sources, like Qatar and Russia,” Saha said. “Given the ongoing geopolitical concerns and tensions in those regions and shipping delays, it would increase concerns around potential shortages on U.S. soil.”
According to Phil Kornbluth, president of Kornbluth Helium Consulting, the U.S. hasn’t been able to tap into Russia’s helium supply because of strained trade relations and the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, attacks on ships in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthi rebels have forced Qatar to send liquified natural gas shipments, which contain helium, around the Cape of Good Hope, a route that adds at least 20 days to the journey.
Helium was already in short supply before the government sale. Currently, Kornbluth said, three out of five U.S. helium suppliers are rationing the element to prioritize life-or-death uses like MRI machines ahead of less-essential helium uses, like keeping party balloons afloat.
Across the University of California system, for instance, which includes 10 research campuses and six medical schools, the shortage has already hit scientists.
“We’ve been on and off allocation for a while from our helium suppliers,” said Jeremy Meadows, its executive director of strategic sourcing. “There’s a priority of allocation where health care goes first and research goes second.” This has been difficult for scientists whose laboratories use magnetic imaging for medical research, he said.
“Our helium-dependent research is only growing,” he added. Should the available supply decline further, he said, “I just don’t know how we position ourselves to get that supply.”
In a letter to the U.S. government last spring, the University of California’s chief procurement officer, Paul Williams, lamented that the cost of helium had already increased more than 400% in five years.
Further supply constriction, he wrote, “leaves the research and medical communities at a greater risk.”
MRI manufacturers have responded to the uncertain future of helium with their own solutions. Both Philips and Siemens Healthineers recently started selling alternatives to traditional MRI machines, which hold 1,700 to 1,800 liters of liquid helium and require constant replenishment. Some models now require just 1 to 7 liters of helium and don’t need any replenishment. Spokespeople from both companies touted these newer models as cost-effective for hospitals, especially if helium prices keep rising.
But an MRI machine is a long-term investment, and many hospitals have been counting on their current, helium-dependent MRI equipment to last years, if not decades, more.
“Using the same magnet for 20 or 30 years is not unheard of,” said Dr. Scott Reeder, chair of the University of Wisconsin’s radiology department.
Premier’s Saha said uptake of lower-helium MRIs has been slow.
“There are capital costs associated with removing the old MRIs and installing new equipment, plus the manufacturers don’t have the capacity to switch out all MRI machines at 6,000 U.S.-based hospitals overnight,” she said. “There’s time required for that, and you can’t take off every MRI machine in the country, because that would impact patient care.”
Still, the uncertain helium supply has brought an uptick in interest in these newer models, Saha said. “We’re seeing health care providers trying to get ahead of this by inquiring about MRI systems that use minimal to no helium,” she said.
- Caroline Hopkins
- 4 Min.
The US was the world's largest helium producer, providing 40 percent of world supply. In addition, the US federal government sold 30 million cubic meters from storage. Other major helium producers were Algeria and Qatar. All commercial helium is recovered from natural gas.
North American Helium has the largest contiguous helium land position in the world, with rights to over 9 million acres of prospective land. With over 90 wells drilled to date, the Company has drilled the most dedicated helium wells in North America.
In 2024, NAH will be actively engaged in exploration, delineating discovered resources, investing in Engineering and future plant/liquefier components as well as constructing new helium purification plants. North American Helium commenced first helium production in July 2020.
7. Juni 2021 · With production of helium from legacy hydrocarbon projects in decline and major initiatives underway to grow domestic semiconductor manufacturing, North America is unfortunately now on a path...
