The 108th District Court in Potter County, Texas granted a temporary injunction to Messer Helium Cliffside LLC (MHC) last week.
It allows MHC continued access to the Crude Helium Enrichment Unit (CHEU), the central piece of machinery that extracts helium from the former federal Helium System.
The injunction will enable MHC and Cliffside Refiners, L.P. (CRLP) to negotiate terms regarding the CHEU while continuing to operate, meeting the helium needs of multiple industries and the American public.
Messer executive vice president of sales & marketing North America, Chris Ebeling, said the ruling is a positive step toward a stable and reliable helium market in the US.
"We will work to negotiate a long-term agreement in good faith with the CRLP and expect all partners to put the best interest of the partnership before individual commercial interests to protect long-term continued supply of this valuable resource,” he said.
If a reasonable commercial solution is not reached between MHC and the CRLP, the domestic helium supply could be threatened, which may impact multiple industries that the American people depend on, including health care and electronics.
Global access to helium from the largest international suppliers, Russia and Qatar, will remain tenuous if sanctions persist and unrest in the Middle East escalates.
Ebeling said disruption to domestic helium supply and increased volatility in the global helium market could hurt the American economy.
“MHC is committed to the ongoing, safe and reliable operation of the CHEU to facilitate the continuous supply of helium, which plays a pivotal role in the nation's health and security,” he said.
Messer is the largest privately held industrial gas business in the world and a leading industrial and medical gas company in North America, South America, Asia and Europe. Messer offers more than 125 years of expertise in industrial, medical, specialty and electronics gases.
Messer Americas sales account approximately for 52 per cent of Messer worldwide sales of $US4.7 billion.