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> From: Richard Pyle <deepreef@bi*.bi*.ha*.or*>
>
> [...]
> Supposedly,
> all of the helium we now buy comes from government surplus storage. When
> all that runs out, the price of helium will skyrocket, and the companies
> will only then find it economically worth their while to start "harvesting"
> it. Meanwhile, the natural (finite) supplies of helium are just being
> squandered at these natural wells, and the helium is escaping into the
> atmosphere. Once at the outer edge of the atmosphere, helium molecules
> are light enough and energetic enough that they can break free of earth's
> gravity and are lost forever.
> [...]
> Does anyone have any knowledge to support or
> refute this story?
I did some searching in NEXIS and found a really surprising (to me
at least) number of articles discussing U.S. helium production. I
didn't have time to read them in much detail, but as recently as
9/7/93 V.P. Gore was answering questions on Larry King Live about
why the federal government was still involved in production and
storage of Helium. This same discussion appears to have come up
regarding Reagan, Bush, and Clinton budgets. So, it looks like
the federal government isn't completely out of the helium business,
but that it kicks the idea around every 4 years or so...
I didn't get a sense from the articles about whether there's any
real risk of running low on helium. Some articles said that our
stockpiles would last 100 years at the current rate of consumption.
Another said that Exxon was producing helium, so if the government
stopped there wouldn't be a complete loss in production. Others
talked about using the moon as a source of helium-3 if the time
comes when we're able to use it efficiently in fusion reactors.
An excerpt from the Larry King show appears below:
12th CALLER: In the budget that just passed Congress this
summer -- Included in it was a $ 20 million subsidy for a
helium reserve which no longer serves any purpose. Mr.
Gore, I believe your report originally included a proposal
to eliminate that. My question is, Mr. Vice President, if
you're serious about eliminating government waste, why was
that subsidy still included in the budget?
Vice Pres. GORE: Well, some of it wasn't. And in fact, in
this report we propose some changes in the way part of that
program operates. There are intergovernmental transfers
there that we believe are no longer necessary. They end up
costing money in the budget that we think ought to be taken
out. And so some of the changes related to that program are
included in the larger backup document that accompanies this
report.
KING: What's that - Helium?
Vice Pres. GORE: Back in the 1920s, the federal government
established a helium reserve to capture this rare gas that
was associated with oil production. They had several
facilities. They ended up with one near Amarillo. And
originally, one of its strategic purposes was to supply our
blimp fleet.
KING: 'Here they come - the blimp fleet!'
Vice Pres. GORE: And over the years-
KING: So we still subsidize this?
Vice Pres. GORE: Yes, and over the years it has resulted in
a program that effectively sets the world market price for
helium. It has virtually a monopoly that controls the whole
market.
KING: So you can't wipe it out in one swoop?
Vice Pres. GORE: It's hard, but we're suggesting reforms in
the way we go about that that I think make a lot of sense.
Also, from Clinton's 1995 budget proposal:
The Federal Helium Program will be
improved through administrative action.
To obtain maximum benefit from helium
operations, the Government will reduce
costs, increase efficiencies in helium
operations, increase sales of crude
helium as market conditions permit, and
study the recommendations to cancel the
helium debt..............................
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