Brad Tollefson

Professional Photojournalist

You are here: Home / Blog / National Helium Shortage

National Helium Shortage

by Leave a Comment

Barry Stoll, the plant manager, shows the facility where contaminants are removed from the helium during a tour of the Cliffside Gas Field and Helium Enrichment Unit, Friday, May 17, 2019, in Amarillo, Texas. (Brad Tollefson/San Antonio Express-News)
Barry Stoll, the plant manager, shows the facility where contaminants are removed from the helium during a tour of the Cliffside Gas Field and Helium Enrichment Unit, Friday, May 17, 2019, in Amarillo, Texas. (Brad Tollefson/San Antonio Express-News)
Pipelines from the four gas wells with the highest helium concentration at the Cliffside Gas Field and Helium Enrichment Unit, Friday, May 17, 2019, in Amarillo, Texas. (Brad Tollefson/San Antonio Express-News)
Pipelines from the four gas wells with the highest helium concentration at the Cliffside Gas Field and Helium Enrichment Unit, Friday, May 17, 2019, in Amarillo, Texas. (Brad Tollefson/San Antonio Express-News)
Empty gas cylinders are stacked against a wall at the Cliffside Gas Field and Helium Enrichment Unit, Friday, May 17, 2019, in Amarillo, Texas. (Brad Tollefson/San Antonio Express-News)
Empty gas cylinders are stacked against a wall at the Cliffside Gas Field and Helium Enrichment Unit, Friday, May 17, 2019, in Amarillo, Texas. (Brad Tollefson/San Antonio Express-News)
Samples from each well are fed through a gas chromatograph at the Cliffside Gas Field and Helium Enrichment Unit, Friday, May 17, 2019, in Amarillo, Texas. (Brad Tollefson/San Antonio Express-News)
Samples from each well are fed through a gas chromatograph at the Cliffside Gas Field and Helium Enrichment Unit, Friday, May 17, 2019, in Amarillo, Texas. (Brad Tollefson/San Antonio Express-News)
Barry Stoll, the plant manager, opens the covered shelter of a helium enriched gas wells during a tour of the Cliffside Gas Field and Helium Enrichment Unit, Friday, May 17, 2019, in Amarillo, Texas. (Brad Tollefson/San Antonio Express-News)
Barry Stoll, the plant manager, opens the covered shelter of a helium enriched gas wells during a tour of the Cliffside Gas Field and Helium Enrichment Unit, Friday, May 17, 2019, in Amarillo, Texas. (Brad Tollefson/San Antonio Express-News)
Wildflowers cover the ground outside the Cliffside Gas Field and Helium Enrichment Unit, Friday, May 17, 2019, in Amarillo, Texas. (Brad Tollefson/San Antonio Express-News)
Wildflowers cover the ground outside the Cliffside Gas Field and Helium Enrichment Unit, Friday, May 17, 2019, in Amarillo, Texas. (Brad Tollefson/San Antonio Express-News)
Cedric Green, a plant operator, clicks through screens in the control room during a tour of the Cliffside Gas Field and Helium Enrichment Unit, Friday, May 17, 2019, in Amarillo, Texas. (Brad Tollefson/San Antonio Express-News)
Cedric Green, a plant operator, clicks through screens in the control room during a tour of the Cliffside Gas Field and Helium Enrichment Unit, Friday, May 17, 2019, in Amarillo, Texas. (Brad Tollefson/San Antonio Express-News)

Helium Around Amarillo

The Helium Time Columns Monument was built in 1968 to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the discovery of helium, Friday, May 17, 2019, at the Don Harrington Discovery Center in Amarillo, Texas. (Brad Tollefson/San Antonio Express-News)
The Helium Time Columns Monument was built in 1968 to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the discovery of helium, Friday, May 17, 2019, at the Don Harrington Discovery Center in Amarillo, Texas. (Brad Tollefson/San Antonio Express-News)
Sam Burton, field manager of the Bureau of Land Management Amarillo Field Office, flips through pictures of the former helium processing facilities, Friday, May 17, 2019, in Amarillo, Texas. (Brad Tollefson/San Antonio Express-News)
Sam Burton, field manager of the Bureau of Land Management Amarillo Field Office, flips through pictures of the former helium processing facilities, Friday, May 17, 2019, in Amarillo, Texas. (Brad Tollefson/San Antonio Express-News)
Sam Burton, field manager of the Bureau of Land Management Amarillo Field Office, shows core samples of the caprock formation and dolomite formation, Friday, May 17, 2019, in Amarillo, Texas. (Brad Tollefson/San Antonio Express-News)
Sam Burton, field manager of the Bureau of Land Management Amarillo Field Office, shows core samples of the caprock formation and dolomite formation, Friday, May 17, 2019, in Amarillo, Texas. (Brad Tollefson/San Antonio Express-News)

You can read Laura Garcia’s full story about the helium shortage in the San Antonio Express-News.