POTTER COUNTY, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) – As of January 2024, the US General Services Administration promoted an upcoming final sale of assets from the Federal Helium System, which initially began in 2014 and has included the sale of what was once the epicenter for global helium production: the Cliffside Gas Plant, also known as the Amarillo Helium Plant.
As described by the GSA, the Cliffside Gas Plant is located on two leased pieces of land totaling 8,108 acres in the Amarillo area and encompasses a range of buildings such as offices, warehouses, maintenance facilities, laboratories, and storage areas. It also includes a natural geologic formation known as the Bush Dome, resting about 3,000 feet belowground, which has held up to 44 billion cubic feet of helium and currently holds more than 6 billion cubic feet of helium and 60 billion cubic feet of natural gas.
Ozymandias on the Plains: What’s the deal with Amarillo’s giant legs?
Knowing that the Amarillo Helium Plant and its surrounding assets have made up the Federal Helium Pipeline and one of the largest helium reserves in the world; how did it come to be, and why is it up for sale?