The US Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) FY 2019 Crude Helium Auction that was originally scheduled to take place on 18th July – but was postponed due to a lawsuit by Weil Group Resources – has been rescheduled to take place in Amarillo, Texas at 1:00 PM on 31st August.
A total of 210 million cubic feet (MMscf) of crude helium will be sold in the auction, with 5 lots of 25 MMscf each, 5 lots of 15 MMscf each and 2 lots of 5 MMscf each. This is a reduction of 30 MMscf from the quantity that was going to be sold if the auction had taken place as originally scheduled on 18th July. An additional 90 MMscf of crude helium will also be sold in the BLM’s Conservation Helium Sale, which will require that bids be submitted by 4th September. This quantity has been reduced by 15 MMscf from the amount of crude helium that the BLM originally planned to include in the Conservation Sale. The reduction in the total quantity of crude helium to be sold (300 MMscf) is the result of updated geological information related to the status of the BLM’s helium reserve and the quantity of crude helium that the BLM expects to be able to deliver into the BLM Pipeline during FY 2019. There is ongoing speculation that the BLM’s Crude Helium Auction and Conservation Sale could be delayed again due to the Weil lawsuit.