The history of the federal Cliffside helium reserve and storage facility in Potter County, Texas, and how it shaped Texas Panhandle helium production.
Quick answer
The Cliffside helium storage facility, located in Potter County, Texas (north of Amarillo), served as the centerpiece of the U.S. Federal Helium Reserve for most of the twentieth century. Operated by the Bureau of Land Management, the facility stored helium recovered from Hugoton-system natural gas in a depleted natural gas reservoir as a strategic federal stockpile.
The Federal Helium Reserve was created by the Helium Act of 1925 to support U.S. military and aerospace helium needs. The Cliffside operation defined commercial helium production in the United States for decades and underscored the unusual economic value of the Texas Panhandle / Oklahoma Panhandle / southwest Kansas helium-bearing gas system.
For mineral owners on Hugoton-system acreage in the Texas Panhandle, the Cliffside facility's history underscores a key fact: the gas under your acreage can contain commercially significant helium, and helium royalty treatment is a question worth understanding for any new lease, ratification, or amendment. See companion guides: Helium Mineral Rights & Royalties, Helium Royalty Rates, Helium Lease Language.
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