§167m Information

Summary

The Secretary, through the Bureau of Land Management, must put key information about the Federal Helium System on the Internet. That information must include open market and in-kind prices, estimates of extra refining capacity, who owns helium in the Federal Helium Reserve, how much helium is delivered through the Federal Helium Pipeline and the pipeline’s pressure limits, an estimate of when 3,000,000,000 standard cubic feet of crude helium will remain and when the final phase in section 167d(c) will begin, the fees charged under section 167c, crude delivery schedules, and other details to increase transparency. No later than 90 days after October 2, 2013, the BLM Director must set up a public, timely reporting system for data that affects the helium market. Reports must include annual maintenance plans with quarterly updates (dates and lengths of planned shutdowns, the work to be done, expected effects on supply, steps to reduce impacts, and any pipeline concerns like pressure or unusual operation); for each unplanned outage, the start, expected length, problem, supply impact, a repair plan with a timeframe and chance of success, steps to reduce harm to the supply chain, and repair status updates with an expected back-online date; monthly summaries of meetings with Cliffside Refiners Limited Partnership listing participants and any actions; and current estimates of how long the Federal Helium System will last, how much longer crude supply will be available based on demand, and the system’s projected maximum production capacity for the next fiscal year.