North American Helium Launches Largest Helium Production Facility in Canada
News related to:North American Helium Inc · 3 min read
Alberta, (Newsfile Corp. - September 22, 2026) - North American Helium Inc. (NAH) has announced the onstream of its Stewart Valley helium purification facility in southwest Saskatchewan, which began producing helium on September 20, 2026. The plant is capable of producing approximately 73 million cubic feet of helium per year (MMcf/y), marking a significant milestone for the company.
The Stewart Valley facility is built on the largest helium field ever discovered in Canada, based on an independent reserve analysis by Ryder Scott. The field is estimated to contain 1.1 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of helium reserves, according to the P-50 estimate. Proved reserves, as defined by the P-90 estimate, are estimated at 0.826 Bcf.
NAH's journey from initial discovery to full production took just 13 months. The company drilled its first discovery well in the third quarter of 2025, and by September 2026, the facility was producing at capacity. NAH has sold over 650 MMcf of reliable, geopolitically secure helium into the market since bringing its first plant online in 2020.
The Stewart Valley facility is designed to process 12 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of bulk gas. Based on stabilized well deliverability and the Ryder Scott evaluation, the facility is expected to maintain a flat production profile for up to nine years. The plant is 40% smaller than NAH's Battle Creek facility, yet it produces at a higher rate due to the higher helium content in the field. This efficiency allows NAH to achieve more helium per well and per unit of plant capacity, with lower energy consumption per unit of helium produced.
The new plant adds permanent operator jobs and NAH plans to target additional structures in the Stewart Valley area with exploration drilling in the fourth quarter of 2026. The company believes that this pace of development is possible due to the operating conditions in southwest Saskatchewan, where helium resources are trapped in underground reservoirs of nitrogen that can be processed more easily than hydrocarbon-based helium sources.
With Stewart Valley onstream, NAH now has enough regional helium production to support the construction of the first regional helium liquefier in Canada, expected to be built in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. A regional liquefier would improve project economics and further reduce the emissions footprint of helium produced in the region by eliminating a large share of the truck-miles now required to move gaseous helium to the United States for liquefaction.
The proposed Swift Current liquefier was selected for inclusion in the investment prospectus for the inaugural Canada Investment Summit, which occurred on September 14-15, 2026, in Toronto. Hosted by the Prime Minister of Canada in partnership with CPP Investments and PSP Investments, the summit convened leading global investors, Canadian business leaders, and public-sector representatives to connect long-horizon capital with Canadian projects of strategic importance, including critical minerals.
The Stewart Valley facility has produced at an average rate of approximately 200 thousand cubic feet of helium per day since coming onstream. If sustained, the company anticipates that the facility will produce at a rate of approximately 73 million cubic feet of helium per year on an annualized basis. This anticipated annualized rate assumes 95% facility uptime, a 95% plant recovery rate, and 1.84% helium content in the produced gas, and that the facility will continue to operate at or near its designed capacity. Actual results may vary due to factors such as unplanned outages and changes in reservoir performance, pipeline capacity, and market demand.