SASKATOON, SK, Oct. 12, 2023 /CNW/ - Royal Helium Ltd. (TSXV: RHC) (OTCQB: RHCCF) ("Royal" or the "Company") today announces that the Company has completed commissioning of its Steveville helium purification facility and has commenced the start-up of the facility located in southeast Alberta near the town of Brooks.

"This is a pivotal moment for Royal Helium and all its stakeholders," said Andrew Davidson, President & CEO of Royal. "Only a few short years after we first began drilling our helium wells and 12 months of design, fabrication, and construction of the Steveville plant, we are now pleased to announce start up following the successful completion of the assembly and commissioning phases. Following a successful start-up, Royal will begin ramping up towards full commercial production, making Royal the first publicly listed helium producer operating in Canada."

The Steveville plant is engineered to process 15,000 mcf/day of raw gas fed by two of the 100% owned helium wells at Steveville with an output capacity of approximately 22,000 mcf of 99.999% helium per year. The production capacity of this facility fully delivers on the 3-year purchase commitments from Royal's two offtake partner agreements in the major North American aerospace and space launch industries at an average price of USD $538 per mcf (thousand cubic feet) helium (CAD $730/mcf). Of economic significance, the facility at Steveville has an ultra-low operating cost due to it being self-powered by fuel gas co-produced from the two helium wells.

Royal's 100% owned state-of-the-art purification facility was purpose built to recover 99.999% helium while setting the highest standards for environmental efficiencies and producing an exceptionally low carbon footprint.  Substantially all of the gas purified at the facility is inert and can be captured in purified form at the facility, providing additional potential cash flow streams.  Until the biproduct gases are captured and sold, they are vented with virtually zero impact to the environment, given the gas's completely inert nature.  The limited ancillary methane gas produced is recycled back into the facility to power its own operations, with the ability to generate excess power which will be distributed back into the electrical grid, providing additional economics to Royal. 

The Steveville plant will materially benefit from carbon credits, generated under the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction System ("TIER system") in Alberta.  As these carbon credits are monetized it will have the ability to provide Royal shareholders with a material additional cash flow stream.

Royal is an exploration, production, and infrastructure company with a primary focus on the development and production of helium and associated gases.  The Company controls over 1,000,000 acres of prospective helium permits and leases across southern Saskatchewan and southeastern Alberta. Given the current and foreseeable global undersupplied nature of this critical and non-renewable product, Royal is well positioned to be a leading North American producer of this increasingly high value commodity.

Royal's helium reservoirs are carried primarily with nitrogen. Nitrogen is not considered a greenhouse gas (GHG) and therefore has a low GHG footprint when compared to other jurisdictions that rely on large scale natural gas production for helium extraction. Helium extracted from wells in Saskatchewan and Alberta can be up to 90% less carbon intensive than helium extraction processes in other jurisdictions.

Andrew Davidson 
President and Chief Executive Officer
Royal Helium Ltd.                                                            

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This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements". All statements in news this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that management of the Company expects, are forward-looking statements, including, the Company's intended use of the net proceeds of the Offering. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.com for further information.