The Iran war is not only disrupting the global energy market but is also threatening the world’s supply of helium and aluminum, key materials used in products such as semiconductor chips, medical equipment and other everyday goods.
Qatar, which accounts for roughly one-third of the world’s helium supply, stopped producing helium this month following Iranian strikes on two liquid natural gas (LNG) facilities owned by state-run QatarEnergy.
Helium is a byproduct of natural gas processing, and attacks on Qatar’s liquefied natural gas facilities mean it could take years to rebuild production lines. Earlier this month, QatarEnergy told Reuters that the attacks wiped out 17% of the country’s LNG export capacity, and that repairs could take three to five years.
Those complications could add to the strains on the global economy beyond the impact of higher oil and gas prices, which so far have drawn the lion’s share of attention from consumers, businesses and economists. The helium shortage has largely been overlooked because the effects of oil supply constraints have been so acute and immediate, with the average price of gasoline on Tuesday hitting $4 a gallon for the first time since August 2022.
“We were so focused on gas supply that we didn’t see the helium shortage,” Vidya Mani, a global supply chain expert and associate professor of business administration at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, told CBS News.
Only a handful of countries produce helium, which means that a disruption from one of those nations can destabilize the global market. The United States is the biggest producer, accounting for 81 million cubic meters last year. Qatar, Algeria and Russia are the other major producers, but Russian supplies are banned under U.S. and European Union sanctions.
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