Hormuz shock: Russia's importance for the global helium market

Russia's helium production has increased fivefold since 2020: from 4.5 million cubic meters to around 18 million cubic meters in 2025, covering 9.5% of global production of 190 million cubic meters, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). As of 2024, Russia is the third largest helium producer in the world, behind the USA, which produces 81 million cubic meters, 42.6% of global production, and Qatar, which covers a third of global production with 63 million cubic meters. The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the Iranian attack on Qatar's Ras-Laffan plant in March 2026 have shaken up the helium market: around a third of the global helium supply was lost overnight. The helium market is small compared to the oil and gas market. Last year, the total volume worldwide was EUR 3.8 billion. Russia's Amur complex: ambition and reality Before 2021, Russia produced helium exclusively at the Orenburg helium plant, which has supplied around 4.5 million cubic meters per year since 1978. The core of the new Russian strategy is the Amur gas processing plant (pictured) around 60 km from the Chinese border. The Russian gas monopolist Gazprom invested more than 1 trillion roubles in the project, according to current figures. roubles in the project, or 11 billion euros at the current exchange rate. The plant processes natural gas from the "Power of Siberia" pipeline for export to China and separates helium as a by-product. Three helium production units, each with an annual capacity of 20 million cubic meters, give a total capacity of 60 million cubic meters - the same amount as Qatar produced before March. However, the ramp-up of the plant did not go according to plan. After the start of production in June 2021, fires broke out in key parts of the mega plant in October 2021 and January 2022. Helium production was at a standstill for the whole of 2022. Helium Unit 1 did not resume commercial operations until August 2023. Unit 2 reached full capacity at the end of 2023. Industry analysts such as the Americans from Kornbluth Helium Consulting expect the second unit to be commissioned in the first half of 2026. In addition, the German gas plant manufacturer Linde left Russia in June 2022 in the wake of Western sanctions. Gazprom sued for damages and Russian courts confiscated Linde's assets in Russia. Gazprom continued the commissioning without the Western licensor, but according to data from the US Geological Survey, far below potential: 18 million  m³ with an actual capacity of 40 million  m³. Exports to China, and on to the EU Russia's helium exports flow almost exclusively to China. According to UK analysts Akap Energy, shipments increased by 60% year-on-year to an average of 38 million cubic feet per month in 2025. Russia thus supplied more than half of China's helium imports in 2025, displacing Qatar as the main supplier. The price was around 310 US dollars per 1000 cubic feet and was 34% below the Qatari price of 470 US dollars, reports the American business news channel CNBC. The EU banned Russian helium imports in the 14th sanctions package of June 2024, effective from September 2024. The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) categorized the ban as largely preventive: Russia previously supplied only around 1% of EU helium imports. In March 2026, the German raw materials agency DERA found that China, without significant helium production of its own, became the largest helium exporter to the EU in 2025: 45 million cubic meters. This points to re-exports of Russian helium to the European Union. Europe faces supply difficulties According to DERA, the EU consumes around 40 million m³ of helium every year, but only produces 3 million m³ itself, mainly in Poland. Germany alone accounts for 30% to 32.5% of European consumption: around 3,000 medical MRI devices each require 1,000 to 2,000 liters of liquid helium, plus growing semiconductor production and aviation. The timing of the Qatar outage is hitting Europe hard. The German companies Uniper and Messer each signed 15-year supply contracts with QatarEnergy at the end of 2025 - just a few months before the Iranian attacks. Linde, the world's largest industrial gas group, held a 30% share in the production of Qatar's He-2 plant. The French company Air-Liquide declared force majeure on March 17  2026 and announced that it would only be able to supply 50% of the usual volumes. European spot prices rose by 30% to 50% above the global level. The only strategic buffer in Europe is an underground helium storage facility in Gronau-Epe in North Rhine-Westphalia with 47 million m³. The major American bank Bank of America estimates that even in the event of a rapid ceasefire, the global market will be 15% short of demand - well into 2027. Russia's Amur plant remains the only source that could produce more in the short term. According to the Interfax news agency, the Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics (IPGG) of the Russian Academy of Sciences expects a production volume of 80 million m³ by 2030 - in the best case even 120 million m³, which could cover 35% to 45% of world demand  This article first appeared in the exclusive newsletter of the German-Russian Chamber of Commerce Abroad The post Hormuz shock: Russia's importance for the global helium market appeared first on ostwirtschaft.de.