VEAT - Procurement of Helium

Helium is a business-critical gas used by SD, particularly as a carrier gas in gas chromatography mass-spectrometry (GC-MS) equipment, a key analytical facility. There are no alternatives to the use of helium in our current equipment. Without a supply of this gas SD will be unable to deliver any work using GC-MS equipment. Helium is currently in short supply globally, and without helium SD will not be able to conduct any analytical work using GC-MS equipment. This will seriously impact our ability to support HSE in planned and reactive work, our scientific reputation and our ability to earn significant external income from commercial work.