From the September 2011 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine


Yet, once world gas reserves run out, the next option will be processing it out of the air -- which, at least with current technology, would be hugely inefficient and costly, requiring the distillation of thousands of gallons of air to squeeze out only tiny usable amounts of helium. Of course, by then, the pressure to conserve the gas could result in widespread, and more efficient, methods of recycling. And one day -- although this is now firmly in the realm of science-fiction -- helium could be extracted from the moon.

Government responds
More immediately, the government has – in part – listened to the complaints of its critics. Starting in 2010, the Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the helium reserves, began raising the price of crude helium for open market sales beyond the absolute minimum required by the 1996 privatization act, admitting that the earlier, lower prices reflected the “cost of the helium and not its value.”
In July, the BLM said it would hike up crude helium prices for open market sales to $75.75 per thousand cubic feet by October. “Getting a fair price for Federal Crude Helium is our obligation and this year’s new pricing represents our commitment to that goal,” Leslie Theiss, field manager in Amarillo, where the reserves are stored, said in a statement.

However, the main aim of the price hike is to more rapidly pay back the BLM’s debt (over building the reserves) to the U.S. Treasury. And not all critics are completely mollified.

“Although this new price of $75.75 established by the BLM is a step in the right direction, it still does not reflect true market value,” reads a notice from Inter-American Corporation, a helium exploration and production company. “This new price reflects only a 1 percent increase from the previous $75 implying that the price reflects the Consumer Price Index adjustment only. No market driven mechanism was used to adjust this new price increase.”

DOTmed Registered MRI Keep Cold and Cool Down Companies

Names in boldface are Premium Listings.
Domestic
John Bachellier, MBI-USA, CA
Marvin Wheaton, American Chillers and Cooling Tower Systems Inc, GA
Wes Solmos, Creative Foam Medical Systems, IN
DOTmed Certified
Kim Bernard, Dimplex Thermal Solutions, MI
Tim Wright, Virtual Medical Sales Inc, NY
Jim Balet, Cool Pair Plus, PA

International
Efzan Robert Malique , VCResources, Malaysia


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