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This is the entire system including the facility, hundreds of miles of pipeline, helium rights for many helium producing wells, existing storage and delivery co

This is the entire system including the facility, hundreds of miles of pipeline, helium rights for many helium producing wells, existing storage and delivery contracts, and 800 million cubic feet of helium. A stockpile of 1 billion cubic feet of helium only is for sale as a separate lot: https://disposal.gsa.gov/s/property/a0Xt0000005z684EAA/federally-owned-crude-helium-gas-only https://disposal.gsa.gov/s/property/a0Xt0000005z684EAA/feder...

deleted 3y ago
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mpreda 3y ago
> and 800 million cubic feet of helium I don't understand why you'd measure the amount of a gas in volume units (e.g. cubic feet) given that any gas is "elastic" in volume, i.e. can take pretty much any volume depending on the pressure.
- ceejayoz 3y ago
  https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/43/3195.11 https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/43/3195.11 > Standard cubic foot (SCF) means the volume of gaseous helium occupying one cubic foot at a pressure of 14.7 psia and a temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit. One liter of liquid helium is equivalent to 26.63 scf of gaseous helium. One U.S. gallon of liquid helium is equivalent to 100.8 scf of gaseous helium. One pound of liquid helium is equivalent to 96.72 scf of gaseous helium. If BLM approves, you may use appropriate gaseous equivalents of volumes of helium mixtures different from these figures.
- deleted 3y ago
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- p_j_w 3y ago
  If it’s anything like SCUBA tanks, then the 800M cu ft is specified at 1 atm at room temperature. It’s a actually an intuitive way to express how much gas you’re getting. Specifying it by N would be borderline incomprehensible to most people.
- danzk 3y ago
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_temperature_and_pressure https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_temperature_and_pre...
- feoren 3y ago
  I hate it when people don't add the word "standard" to gas quantity units like this, but that is almost always what they mean. A "standard cubic foot" has the same dimension as moles; that is, it's actually a count of the number of atoms or molecules.
max51 3y ago
I know that the info can probably be found elsewhere, but it never stop to blow my mind when I see the gov selling off something extremely expensive with nothing more than a few lines of description and a picture of the front sign. I looked at the pdf document, almost all of it is legal stuff that doesn't describe the actual facility. It feel like they already got interest (lobbying?) buyers and the auction is just a formality.
- vorpalhex 3y ago
  Nah, that's just government auctions. I was looking at ground based inflatable satcom rigs - these things run 250k+. All the descriptions are a model number and _maybe_ what bands it targets.
- quickthrowman 3y ago
  From the IFB > 3. INSPECTION No one will be allowed access to the Property without the presence of a BLM employee or designee. Bidders are invited, urged, and cautioned to inspect the Property prior to submitting a bid. Photos provided by the Government may not represent the condition or existence of any improvements of the Property and are NOT to be relied upon in place of the Bidder's own inspection. Any maps, illustrations or other graphical images of the Property are provided for visual context and are NOT to be relied upon in place of the Bidder's own inspection. The failure of any bidder to inspect, or to be fully informed as to the condition of all or any portion of the Property, will not constitute grounds for any claim or demand for adjustment or withdrawal of a bid after the auction. A potential buyer is expected to do their own due diligence before submitting a bid. This collection of assets and contracts is likely worth tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, any potential buyer will have a team doing due diligence.
  - max51 3y ago
    >A potential buyer is expected to do their own due diligence before submitting a bid. If they were trying to get the highest bid possible, wouldn't it make sense to provide more info to potential buyers?! The way they present it, you shouldn't even bother if you aren't already in the know. This facility was paid with public dollars, we all paid for it. There is no national secrets to protects or dangerous weapons, leaking photos and technical documentation has no downsides if we assume they aren't trying to scam buyers.

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mpreda 3y ago

> and 800 million cubic feet of helium I don't understand why you'd measure the amount of a gas in volume units (e.g. cubic feet) given that any gas is "elastic" in volume, i.e. can take pretty much any volume depending on the pressure.

ceejayoz 3y ago
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/43/3195.11 https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/43/3195.11 > Standard cubic foot (SCF) means the volume of gaseous helium occupying one cubic foot at a pressure of 14.7 psia and a temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit. One liter of liquid helium is equivalent to 26.63 scf of gaseous helium. One U.S. gallon of liquid helium is equivalent to 100.8 scf of gaseous helium. One pound of liquid helium is equivalent to 96.72 scf of gaseous helium. If BLM approves, you may use appropriate gaseous equivalents of volumes of helium mixtures different from these figures.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
p_j_w 3y ago
If it’s anything like SCUBA tanks, then the 800M cu ft is specified at 1 atm at room temperature. It’s a actually an intuitive way to express how much gas you’re getting. Specifying it by N would be borderline incomprehensible to most people.
danzk 3y ago
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_temperature_and_pressure https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_temperature_and_pre...
feoren 3y ago
I hate it when people don't add the word "standard" to gas quantity units like this, but that is almost always what they mean. A "standard cubic foot" has the same dimension as moles; that is, it's actually a count of the number of atoms or molecules.

max51 3y ago

I know that the info can probably be found elsewhere, but it never stop to blow my mind when I see the gov selling off something extremely expensive with nothing more than a few lines of description and a picture of the front sign. I looked at the pdf document, almost all of it is legal stuff that doesn't describe the actual facility. It feel like they already got interest (lobbying?) buyers and the auction is just a formality.

vorpalhex 3y ago
Nah, that's just government auctions. I was looking at ground based inflatable satcom rigs - these things run 250k+. All the descriptions are a model number and _maybe_ what bands it targets.
quickthrowman 3y ago
From the IFB > 3. INSPECTION No one will be allowed access to the Property without the presence of a BLM employee or designee. Bidders are invited, urged, and cautioned to inspect the Property prior to submitting a bid. Photos provided by the Government may not represent the condition or existence of any improvements of the Property and are NOT to be relied upon in place of the Bidder's own inspection. Any maps, illustrations or other graphical images of the Property are provided for visual context and are NOT to be relied upon in place of the Bidder's own inspection. The failure of any bidder to inspect, or to be fully informed as to the condition of all or any portion of the Property, will not constitute grounds for any claim or demand for adjustment or withdrawal of a bid after the auction. A potential buyer is expected to do their own due diligence before submitting a bid. This collection of assets and contracts is likely worth tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, any potential buyer will have a team doing due diligence.
- max51 3y ago
  >A potential buyer is expected to do their own due diligence before submitting a bid. If they were trying to get the highest bid possible, wouldn't it make sense to provide more info to potential buyers?! The way they present it, you shouldn't even bother if you aren't already in the know. This facility was paid with public dollars, we all paid for it. There is no national secrets to protects or dangerous weapons, leaking photos and technical documentation has no downsides if we assume they aren't trying to scam buyers.