Iran war chokes off helium supplies in threat to chipmakers and healthcare

{"text":[[{"start":9.35,"text":"Fears of a helium crunch are mounting after a drop in global output since the start of the Iran war, as the conflict’s impact spreads beyond energy markets into other critical supply chains."}],[{"start":23.04,"text":"The Gulf is a major exporter of helium, a byproduct of natural gas that is critical for the manufacturing of microchips — including those used to power the global AI boom — as well as for the functioning of some medical devices. "}],[{"start":38.79,"text":"A US subsidiary of France’s Air Liquide last week wrote to helium customers to declare force majeure on helium supply contracts, warning in correspondence seen by the FT that it could be unable to fulfil orders as a result of the conflict in the Middle East."}],[{"start":56.42,"text":"“We do see a significant tightening of the global helium supply chain,” said Air Liquide USA’s Matthieu Giard, who supervises operations in the Americas. “Our teams are very much looking at sourcing alternative sources and prioritising critical applications.”"}],[{"start":74.81,"text":"Air Liquide USA’s move came after an Iranian missile strike halted production at QatarEnergy’s Ras Laffan complex, the world’s largest LNG facility, and as the near closure of the Strait of Hormuz chokes off seaborne exports from the region."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":92.1,"text":"Helium production is highly concentrated. Qatar accounts for 30-40 per cent of global output, second only to the US, according to the US Geological Survey. "}],[{"start":104.85,"text":"While helium pricing is opaque, with most deals negotiated privately between buyers and sellers, anecdotal evidence suggests the cost of the gas has soared since Gulf exports evaporated. "}],[{"start":118.69,"text":"Cliff Cain, commercial manager at exploration company Pulsar Helium, said he knew of a contract agreed last week at $0.90 per cubic foot, almost triple pre-war levels, as buyers scrambled to secure short-term supply."}],[{"start":134.73,"text":"Importers in South Korea, a major hub for the semiconductor industry, were “reaching out everywhere” and “beating down the doors” to secure the gas, he added. "}],[{"start":145.31,"text":"Helium plays a vital role in semiconductor manufacturing, where the highly thermally conductive gas is used to cool wafers as their circuits are etched. It is also critical in parts of the healthcare sector, where it is used as a coolant for the powerful electromagnets in MRI scanners. "}],[{"start":165.14,"text":"The French group sources more than 70 per cent of its helium from Qatar, according to Phil Kornbluth of Kornbluth Helium Consulting. Anish Kapadia, founder of consultancy AKAP Energy, estimates that Qatari helium volumes will fall by a third this year compared with 2025, a hit equivalent to 11 per cent of last year’s global supply. "}],[{"start":189.04,"text":"One industry consultant said some US and European semiconductor and electronics makers had started asking where they could find new sources of helium."}],[{"start":199.32999999999998,"text":"Takayoshi Uramoto, director of Japanese helium importer Nippon Helium, said it had received an influx of inquiries from semiconductor producers inside and outside the country searching for alternative supplies. He said that while there were ample flows from the US to Japan at present, after two months “the pressure will gradually rise and it will become difficult to handle”."}],[{"start":224.67,"text":"Kwon Seok-joon, a professor at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, said that while a short war might drive up the cost of microchips, a conflict of more than three months could start to constrain production. He added that if an energy shock causes a recession, “the broader memory supercycle may reach an earlier peak”."}],[{"start":246.67,"text":"Chip plants typically hold only two to four weeks of inventory on site given liquid helium’s extremely short shelf-life, according to Carl Jackson, founder of Singapore-based SSoT Consulting, who warned that supply disruptions could leave some buyers unable to secure deliveries."}],[{"start":265.77,"text":"“A contract commitment is not the same as product on your doorstep,” he said. “If the containers can’t reach you, the contract is meaningless.”"}],[{"start":274.85999999999996,"text":"In the medical sector, Marc Johnson from the University of Missouri School of Medicine said certain medical imaging systems could be forced to shut down if supply interruptions were severe and protracted."}],[{"start":287.34999999999997,"text":"However, Premier Inc, which sources helium supplies on behalf of hospitals in the US, said that while the conflict was driving price increases, the sector had not yet been widely disrupted. “What we’re watching is cost and timing — not access,” it said."}],[{"start":303.72999999999996,"text":"Meanwhile, MRI manufacturer Siemens Healthineers said it had “established a solid mitigation strategy, and successfully managed similar situations in the past”."}],[{"start":314.52,"text":"Multiple analysts contacted by the FT said that the semiconductor and medical industries were likely to be prioritised for deliveries, given their criticality."}],[{"start":325.90999999999997,"text":"Some said the crisis was less acute than it could have been due to oversupply and soft demand in the market before the war."}],[{"start":334.99999999999994,"text":"“Overall the market is balanced. It was long a few weeks ago,” said Air Liquide USA’s Giard. "}],[{"start":341.99999999999994,"text":"Helium producer Air Products reported in its latest earnings in January that demand in the last three months of 2025 was lower than a year earlier, and noted “headwinds in the sector”."}],[{"start":355.78999999999996,"text":"Analysts said Air Products and industrial gas group Linde were well placed to capitalise on the crisis, in part since the companies have storage facilities in the US."}],[{"start":366.84,"text":"But while the helium squeeze is yet to escalate into a crisis, the situation has highlighted the vulnerability of the supply chain."}],[{"start":376.27,"text":"For Cain of Pulsar Helium, the concentrated market poses a structural risk. Buyers “say they’ve diversified supply between two different distributors”, he said, but if they both draw their helium from Qatar, “then it’s not really diversified, is it?”"}],[{"start":393.71999999999997,"text":"Bo Sears, CEO of Helix Exploration, said the market “is not large or diverse enough to absorb these disruptions comfortably . . . Global helium supply is concentrated among a very small number of sources, and the supply chain has virtually no buffer. When any single major source goes offline, the consequences are immediate and material.”"}],[{"start":418.07,"text":"Reporting by Ryohtaroh Satoh, Camilla Hodgson, Martha Muir, Harry Dempsey, Daniel Tudor, Malcolm Moore and Aanu Adeoye"}],[{"start":438.16,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1774856321_5343.mp3"}