Today, the U.S. alone produces 75 percent of the world’s helium. Nearly half of that total, or roughly 30 percent of the world’s helium supply, comes from the U.S. Federal Helium Reserve. That reserve is held in a huge natural underground reservoir near Amarillo called the Bush Dome.
Yet the American reserve is in danger. Between 10 and 12 billion cubic feet of recoverable helium are expected to remain in the reservoir by the end of 2014,
"At current production rates of about 2 billion cubic feet per year, the reservoir could continue to produce helium for five to six more years." But, he said, the computer modeling that predicts the amount of helium the reservoir will be able to produce, considering its complex geology, has determined that the reservoir production rates "will decline to approximately 1 billion cubic feet per year after 2014," he said. "As a result, the usable life of the reservoir will be extended to 2018 or perhaps even 2020."
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/med-tech/why-is-there-a-helium-shortage-10031229
Yet the American reserve is in danger. Between 10 and 12 billion cubic feet of recoverable helium are expected to remain in the reservoir by the end of 2014,
"At current production rates of about 2 billion cubic feet per year, the reservoir could continue to produce helium for five to six more years." But, he said, the computer modeling that predicts the amount of helium the reservoir will be able to produce, considering its complex geology, has determined that the reservoir production rates "will decline to approximately 1 billion cubic feet per year after 2014," he said. "As a result, the usable life of the reservoir will be extended to 2018 or perhaps even 2020."
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/med-tech/why-is-there-a-helium-shortage-10031229