The Keyes Helium Plant is an old government plant, now closed, and a newer private helium plant, which is still functioning. The facilities are adjacent to one another, and are both connected to the Federal Helium Pipeline, which links production plants like these to the Federal Helium Reserve. The plant is located in the Keyes Gas Field, and was opened by the Bureau of Mines in 1959 to make helium from the helium-rich gas wells in the field. Employing as many as 70 people, it was a smaller version of the Bureau’s Exell Helium Plant, to which it was connected after the pipeline was completed in 1962. Gas gathering stopped in 1979, as gas fields became depleted and the demand for helium subsided. The plant operated as a refinery for a while, then closed in 1982. In the 1990s, a new helium plant was built next to it, now operated by Badger Midstream Energy Services, an independent gas company based out of Houston. The plant is capable of producing up to 65,000 cubic feet per day of 99.95% pure helium. It is liquefied on site, and distributed by insulated tanker truck trailers.