Texas court keeps the helium flowing

The helium can continue to flow in Amarillo, Texas, thanks to a ruling on Nov. 7 from Texas state judge Douglas R. Woodburn. It’s welcome news for helium users as about 9% of the global helium supply flows through Amarillo.

The ruling concerns equipment for purifying helium leaving the large geological gas storage site that was, until recently, the US Federal Helium System. The industrial gas firm Messer bought the system at auction earlier this year, acquiring the underground formation that holds crude helium, a portion of the helium inside, and some of the supporting infrastructure.

But the government didn’t own the crude helium enrichment unit. A partnership of industrial gas companies called Cliffside Refiners bought it in 1996 and leased it back to the government. Air Products and Chemicals, one of the partners in Cliffside, has been blocking the partnership from setting up a new lease with Messer, which operates the enrichment unit under a government contract.

Messer is also a partner in Cliffside, along with Linde’s Praxair unit. Kinder Morgan was a partner until July, when it sold its stake to Messer. Any one of the parties has veto power on most actions the partnership might take.

Without a lease, Messer would have to shut down the enrichment unit, which would cut off everyone’s access to helium stored in the reservoir. Maura Garvey, an industrial gas consultant, says the unit cannot easily be switched off and on.

Messer won a temporary injunction from the court in September that allows it to continue operations. Judge Woodburn’s ruling places Cliffside into receivership, meaning a third party will be appointed and given authority to set up a lease with Messer and even negotiate a sale of the enrichment unit.

Air Products, which owns about half of the helium inside the Amarillo system, declined to comment. Like most of the helium industry, Air Products was strongly opposed to the auction of the Federal Helium System, a move mandated by Republican-controlled congresses in 1996 and 2013. But the firm has been tight-lipped about its reasons for obstructing a new lease for the enrichment unit.