(North American Helium/Facebook)

By Lisa Schick/CJME News

Sask. government aims to raise up province’s helium industry

Nov 15, 2021 | 5:57 PM

The helium industry appears to be entering a new boom time and the Saskatchewan government wants to help it along.

On Monday, the province unveiled its Helium Action Plan. The plan includes a handful of incentives to entice more work in the industry to grow Saskatchewan’s share of the world helium market to 10 per cent, from its current one per cent, by 2030.

Andrew Davidson, the CEO of Royal Helium, spoke in support of the new plan. He said his company would still be operating if the tax credits weren’t available, but in the exploration phase.

“But the fact that they are here now encourages far more entrance into the space, which is going to allow for development into a rapid scale,” said Davidson.

The biggest part of the action plan for Davidson was the fact that it covers everything from exploration to exporting. He said incentives elsewhere often just cover the building of facilities, which is putting the cart before the horse.

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Davidson doesn’t think the province would be able to get to its 10 per cent goal without the action plan and its incentives, primarily because the plan encourages the building of plants to turn the gas into a liquid.

“The ability to eventually turn it into a liquid opens up global markets, specifically Asian markets which are the largest consumers now,” said Davidson.

There aren’t any liquefaction plants in Canada right now and only a few in the U.S. Davidson explained that right now most Canadian companies just sell their helium into the American refinery system.

“Having these incentives here, encouraging groups likes ours and North American (Helium) to build facilities to actually upgrade gas here is a huge win and it goes a long way to getting more production online,” said Davidson.

The liquid form of helium is two to three times more valuable than the gaseous form, according to Davidson.

The helium produced in Saskatchewan is also a lot more green than helium from most other jurisdictions.

The formations in Saskatchewan produce helium in much higher concentrations, so it’s possible to drill wells specifically for helium instead of obtaining the element through natural gas drilling.

“Saskatchewan is the only jurisdiction that we can see anywhere in the world which has the ability to be a large helium producer without any significant hydrocarbons whatsoever,” said Davidson.

However, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Bronwyn Eyre said the industry couldn’t happen without the expertise and work of those from the oil and gas sector.

Helium in Saskatchewan is already doing well, as leases and permits for helium have tripled since 2018 in Saskatchewan, according to Eyre. But the minister said the plan is aiming to improve Saskatchewan’s competitiveness even more.

If the goal to have 10 per cent of the global market share in the next nine years is hit, the government said it will create more than 500 new permanent jobs, support thousands of other jobs, support the drilling of more than 150 dedicated helium wells, build up to 15 helium purification and liquefaction facilities, and generate more than $500 million in annual helium exports.