Hormus Shock: Russia's Importance to the Global Helium Market

Russia's helium production has increased fivefold since 2020: from 4.5 million cubic meters to about 18 million cubic meters in 2025. This means Russia accounts for 9.5% of global production of 190 million cubic meters, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Since 2024, Russia has been the world’s third-largest helium producer, behind the U.S., which produces 81 million cubic meters—42.6% of global production—and Qatar, which accounts for one-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 facility in March 2026 sent shockwaves through the helium market: roughly one-third of the global helium supply vanished overnight. The helium market is small compared to the oil and gas market. Last year, the total global volume was 3.8 billion euros.

Russia’s Amur Complex: Ambition and Reality

Prior to 2021, Russia produced helium exclusively at the Orenburg helium plant, which had been supplying approximately 4.5 million m³ per year since 1978. At the heart of Russia’s new strategy is the Amur gas processing plant (pictured), located about 60 km from the Chinese border. The Russian gas monopoly Gazprom invested more than 1 trillion rubles in the project—equivalent to 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 byproduct. Three helium production units, each with an annual capacity of 20 million m³, result in a total capacity of 60 million m³—equivalent to Qatar’s pre-March production volume.

However, the plant’s ramp-up did not go according to plan. After production began in June 2021, fires broke out in key sections of the mega-plant in October 2021 and January 2022. Helium production was halted for the entire year of 2022. It was not until August 2023 that Helium Unit 1 resumed commercial operations. Unit 2 reached full capacity by the end of 2023. Industry analysts, such as those at the U.S.-based Kornbluth Helium Consulting, expect the second unit to come online 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 seized Linde’s assets in Russia. Gazprom continued commissioning without the Western licensor, though according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey, well below capacity: 18 million m³ out of 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 the British analysts at Akap Energy, shipments in 2025 rose by 60% year-over-year to an average of 38 million cubic feet per month. Russia thus supplied more than half of China’s helium imports in 2025, displacing Qatar as the main supplier. The price was around $310 per 1,000 cubic feet, 34% below Qatar’s price of $470, reports the American business news channel CNBC.

The EU banned Russian helium imports in the 14th sanctions package of June 2024, effective as of September 2024. The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) classified the ban as largely preventive: Russia had previously supplied only about 1% of EU helium imports. In March 2026, the German Commodity Agency (DERA) noted that China, which has no significant domestic helium production, became the largest exporter of helium to the EU in 2025, supplying 45 million cubic meters. This suggests 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 annually but produces only 3 million m³ itself, primarily in Poland. Germany alone accounts for 30% to 32.5% of European consumption: Around 3,000 medical MRI machines each require 1,000 to 2,000 liters of liquid helium, and on top of that there is growing semiconductor manufacturing and aviation.

The timing of the Qatar outage hits 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% stake 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 30% to 50% above the global level.

The only strategic buffer in Europe is considered to be an underground helium storage facility in Gronau-Epe, North Rhine-Westphalia, with a capacity of 47 million cubic meters. The major U.S. bank Bank of America estimates that even with a rapid ceasefire, the global market will face a 15% shortfall in demand—well into 2027. Russia’s Amur plant remains the only source capable of increasing production 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 production to reach 80 million m³ by 2030 —and in the best-case scenario, even 120 million cubic meters, which could cover 35% to 45% of global demand. 

This article first appeared in the exclusive newsletter of the German-Russian Chamber of Foreign Trade