Regional helium producers form group to promote industry

Helium producers in southeast Alberta and southwest Saskatchewan have formed an industry association to promote and grow the niche materials sector that supplies high-tech manufacturing as well as industrial or medical processes.

Five firms that are actively exploring for and producing the element stated in a release Thursday that the Helium Developers Association of Canada (HeDAC) will work with government and helium users to develop a stable domestic supply chain

“Global demand for helium is rising rapidly at the same time concerns over uncertain supply and pricing are growing,” says Richard Dunn, the group’s executive director. “This is a challenge and an opportunity that Canada is well-positioned to address.”

Helium first gained public prominence in Medicine Hat six years ago when the City of Medicine Hat began targeting potential helium formations as it drilled for new oil pools. That produced several wells with helium production that have since been farmed out to other firms in the emerging sector, and officials said its presence could collate to greater cooperation between firms in the emerging sector.

This month five companies that operate in the larger regions – Avanti Helium, First Helium, Global Helium, Royal Helium and Thor Resources – announced the formation of the HeDAC.

Membership does not include North American Helium, believed to be the largest producer in the region. That non-traded company recently stated it now supplies five per cent of the North American market after commissioning its seventh production site southeast of the Cypress Hills.

Royal Helium is commissioning a production plant at Steveville, north of Brooks.

Global Helium said Sept. 21 it had completed its first well on a 36,000-acre block of mineral rights near Manyberries. It plans two more this year through an agreement with oil and gas explorer Perpetual Energy.

Avanti CEO Chris Bakker and First Helium CEO Ed Bereznicki are co-chairs of the association.

“We are engaging with the federal and provincial governments to get the right policies and programs in place,” stated Berezniki. “With those, Canada can become self-sufficient in the foreseeable future and a trusted supplier to other countries, including the U.S.”

Helium is a federally designated “critical mineral” in Canada, used in high-tech computing, medical procedures, large electrical batteries and fibre optics. Saskatchewan has extended mining subsidies to the sector it says could produce 10 per cent of the world supply by 2030, potentially creating a $500-million annual export market.

Alberta Energy Minister Brian Jean, Minister of Energy and Minerals of Alberta, said in the association’s release that work on an Alberta program, promised several years ago, is proceeding.

“We are excited to see ongoing diversification of our economy, particularly in such an important sector for Canada’s future,” he said.

Most of the world’s helium is produced in the U.S., with large amounts coming from Qatar and Russia as well.

It can be extracted from large-scale natural gas processing, as well as from deep geologic pools where it becomes trapped under non-porous rock dome formations as it migrates upward.