Tumbleweed Midstream Formally Ends Sales Process of Ladder Creek Helium Plant and Gathering System

Tumbleweed Midstream, LLC (“Tumbleweed”) announced today it has formally ended the sales process of its Ladder Creek Helium Plant and Gathering System. The company’s ownership and board of managers are committed to Ladder Creek’s ongoing operations and continued growth. The Ladder Creek Helium Plant and Gathering System serve natural gas producers operating in the helium-rich region of eastern Colorado and western Kansas.

Located in Cheyenne County, Colorado, the Ladder Creek Helium Plant uses state-of-the-art cryogenic processes to extract helium and natural gas liquids from raw natural gas. The helium is further purified to 99.999%, and its temperature is reduced to negative 458 degrees Fahrenheit for transport to customers as a liquid. Current processing capacity at the Ladder Creek plant is 38 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d), expandable to 57 MMcf/d. The Ladder Creek Helium Plant is supported by long-term acreage dedications across a 1,000- square-mile area that spans Cheyenne, Kit Carson and Kiowa counties in Colorado and Hamilton, Greeley, Wichita, Kearney, Wallace and Finney counties in Kansas.

“We are committed to supporting Tumbleweed, our employees, and our customers, and we remain excited about the opportunity to work and continue to grow what we feel is a truly remarkable asset,” said Darin Dickey, Tumbleweed board member. “The natural gas produced in this region has a high helium content, with average concentrations as high as three percent. Our unique process of extracting this highly valuable helium can return premium netbacks to our producers, delivering superior economics with the highest level of service.”

Tumbleweed purchased the Ladder Creek system in late 2019 before exploring potential sales in 2021 and 2022. Tumbleweed has retained the Cavalcade Midstream team to fulfill the CEO role and provide management and consulting services to further expand and grow the system.

The United States is the world’s largest helium producer. Helium is used in the medical industry for MRI machines and for ventilators, which often use a mixture of oxygen and helium called “heliox” to treat patients with severe asthma and other respiratory illnesses. Helium is also used in cryogenics, welding, deep sea diving, manufacturing of fiber optic cables and semiconductors, and retail sales of helium-filled balloons.

About Tumbleweed Midstream

Tumbleweed Midstream, LLC is a privately held, independent natural gas gathering and processing company whose primary business is focused on the separation and production of liquefied helium, NGLs and residue gas from the incoming gas stream as well as the purification and liquefaction of crude helium from third parties. The company’s operations are centered at the Ladder Creek Helium Plant and Gathering System located near Cheyenne Wells, Colorado, just west of the Kansas-Colorado border. For more information, please visit tumbleweedmidstream.com.

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