![]() It is also used in hospital MRI machines.Ĭustomer Margaret Harding of South Philadelphia purchased a bunch of festive, colorful balloons for a Mother's Day gathering. It is critical in the manufacture of semiconductors used in smartphones and many other electronic applications. It is used in scientific research where super cold conditions are needed. Helium is used in many areas besides inflating balloons. But given the current scarcity, costs have gone up.Ĭattai says a cylinder that cost $75 to $80 ten years ago cost about $125 last year.Ĭhanges in the wholesale helium market over the last several years have led to issues of scarcity. He says they have been good at getting him tanks in the midst of what has been described as a global helium shortage. Owner Dave Cattai estimates the store sells 2,000 to 3,000 helium balloons a week. In contrast, Dino's Party Center in South Philadelphia was selling helium balloons and doing a brisk business. It apparently had only enough gas to fill orders that were made weeks ago for pickup this weekend. The Party City store in South Philadelphia was not selling helium balloons on Friday. The Dollar Tree store in Wynnefield Heights managed to get a new supply and was expecting to sell its first helium balloons since February. In some instances, they may find party stores no longer have stocks of the gas. In some cases, they will find significantly higher prices for helium balloons compared to last year. But this year, consumers may find that an international shortage of the gas might put a crimp in their plans for using the floating balloons. One staple for those celebrations helium-filled balloons. PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) - It's the time of the year many folks think about decorating for graduation or Mother's Day parties. John Rawlins reports during Action News at 5pm on May 10, 2019. It does not store any personal data.Global helium shortage could deflate party expectations. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. How long it will take to restart helium production from Amur remains to be seen, with speculation ranging from the most optimistic late Q3 to more pessimistic predictions that Amur will produce little, if any, helium before 2023. While Amur was shut down, the natural gas processing plants that produce feed gas for the first of three helium plants experienced a fire on 8 th October and a second explosion/fire on 5 th January that will delay Amur’s helium production until at least Q3 of 2022. However, after briefly producing helium for a few weeks in September, the Amur helium plant in Russia was taken down to complete construction punch-list items. When helium markets tightened up during the second half of 2021 due primarily to a four month maintenance outage of the US Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) crude helium enrichment unit, the industry consensus was that Gazprom’s Amur project would begin pumping large quantities of helium into the market by the fourth quarter (Q4) of 202, averting another extended period of short supply.
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