1) In 2008, it was priced at US$115-135/MCF (plus surcharges) or US$4.15-US$4.87/MCM
2) USA produced 131 million cubic metres (MMCM) in '08, exported 66.1 & used 64.9 MMCM. (1 MMCM = 35.3 MMCF). Out of this 131 mmcm prodn, 58 mmcm was from its stockpile while the remaining 73 mmcm was extracted from natural gas.
3) Current US stockpile is 541.6 MMCM
4) Price of pure helium is supposed to rise as production costs increase & reserves are depleted.
5) Demand to grow by 2.5-3.5% per annum.
6) 9 new Helium plants are scheduled for startup between 2009-2012, 2 in the USA (at Riley Ridge & St Johns), 1 each in Algeria, Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Qatar & Russia.
7) Global production in 2008 was 169 MMCM
8) Global reserves base is 49000 MMCM
And why is Helium important?
- B'coz there is no substitute for it in Cryogenic applications (28%). - Other uses are in welding (20%), breathing mixtures, Leak detections, pressurising & purging applictions.
CTP Price at posting:
12.4¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
