Federal Helium Act

1925

The Federal Helium Act of 1925 was enacted and the Bureau of Mines was able to operate helium facilities to supply helium to the Army and Navy. The Fort Worth plant was soon closed to make way for a new plant.  The Amarillo Helium plant was opened in 1929 close to the Cliffside Gas Field.  A pipeline that ran 12 miles connected the Amarillo Helium Plant to the Cliffside Gas Field.

In 1937 the Cryogenic Research Lab was moved to Amarillo from Washington D.C.

The Amarillo Helium Plant was the only helium plant in the US until 1943.

Another helium plant was opened in the Texas Panhandle in Moore County in 1945 called the Exell Helium Plant. 

The Amarillo and Exell Plants experimented with new ways to produce helium.