HELIUM by USGC

72 HELIUM 1 (Data in million cubic meters of contained helium gas unless otherwise noted) Domestic Production and Use: The estimated value of Grade-A helium (99.997% or better) extracted domestically during 2011 by private industry was about $808 million. Nine plants (five in Kansas and four in Texas) extracted helium from natural gas and produced only a crude helium product that varied from 50% to 99% helium. Ten plants (four in Kansas, and one each in Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming) extracted helium from natural gas and produced an intermediate process stream of crude helium (about 70% helium and 30% nitrogen) and continued processing the stream to produce a Grade-A helium product. Of these 10 plants, 6 (4 in Kansas, 1 in Oklahoma, and 1 in Texas) accepted a crude helium product from other producers and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) pipeline and purified it to a Grade-A helium product. Estimated 2011 domestic consumption of 56 million cubic meters (2.0 billion cubic feet) was used for cryogenic applications, 32%; for pressurizing and purging, 18%; for controlled atmospheres, 18%; for welding cover gas, 13%; leak detection, 4%; breathing mixtures, 2%; and other, 13%.