Russia pumping out helium

Why is this room full of MRIs? 
Credit: Jock Fistick/Bloomberg, via Getty Images

Via the New York Times, interesting article on Russian helium production in Siberia, and its geopolitical
impact:

...Still, after ramping up to full production in the middle of this decade, Russia expects to produce 25 to 30 percent of all helium used worldwide.

It will do so without breaking a sweat, so vast are its reserves, analysts say. In fact, Gazprom has the ability to reserve extracted helium in Siberia by injecting it back into the natural gas fields — essentially taking its helium off the market — which is one reason for concerns about price manipulation in the future. Gazprom declined to comment for this article.

In other commodity markets where Russia has a finger on the scale of prices, such as natural gas in Europe, a complicated mix of politics and economics influences the Kremlin’s decisions. Its Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline project, intended to connect Russian gas fields to Germany, for example, has been fiercely opposed by the White House as a means of stoking dependence on Russia....

I don't quite know what to make of all of this, but more sources of helium are a good thing one presumes. Will be amused to see if there will be a HPEC someday...