The Iran War Killed a Third of the World's Helium Supply — and It's Coming for Your Chips and MRIs

What Happened to Qatar's Helium

Helium is not produced by itself — it is a byproduct of natural gas processing. Qatar, as the world's largest LNG exporter, also produces helium as a byproduct of that process. In 2025, Qatar produced approximately 63 million cubic metres of helium, constituting approximately one-third of the roughly 190 million cubic metres produced globally, according to U.S. Geological Survey data cited by Al Jazeera and Reuters.

On March 2, 2026, QatarEnergy — the world's largest LNG producer — ceased production of LNG and associated products following Iranian drone strikes on its facilities at Ras Laffan Industrial City and Mesaieed Industrial City, according to a QatarEnergy statement cited by Al Jazeera. Helium production stopped when LNG production stopped, because helium cannot be extracted independently.

The damage was more severe than initially reported. On March 19, Reuters reported that the QatarEnergy CEO told the company's largest customers that Iranian attack damage had wiped out approximately 17% of Qatar's LNG production capacity for a period of three to five years. QatarEnergy declared force majeure on its entire LNG output, according to Reuters. The New York Times noted that Iran struck Qatar's largest LNG facility again the week of March 22, "damaging helium production lines that could take years to rebuild."

QatarEnergy separately stated that its annual exports of helium would drop by 14% per year as a result of the disruptions, according to Al Jazeera.

Qatar's helium cannot be rerouted. Virtually all of Qatar's exported helium leaves the country by ship through the Strait of Hormuz, because Qatar's production facilities are on the Gulf coast with no alternative maritime outlet, according to Al Jazeera. The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed to commercial shipping since the war began, compounding the production halt with a transit blockage.

Why Helium Is Irreplaceable

Helium's industrial significance is entirely disproportionate to its public profile. As the coldest liquid on Earth, it cools superconducting magnets — most critically in MRI machines, which require helium to maintain the near-absolute-zero temperatures at which their magnets function. A shortage of helium could delay MRI scans and, in the most acute scenarios, force hospitals to take machines offline entirely, according to Al Jazeera.

The semiconductor industry's dependence on helium is less well known but equally critical. As intricate machines etch tiny circuits onto thin silicon wafers — the process that produces every computer chip — helium cools the substrate from below to maintain precise temperatures during etching. After wafers are washed with chemicals, helium is used to flush out toxic residue, according to the New York Times. There is no substitute for helium in these processes: its unique physical properties, particularly its inertness and low boiling point, make it the only element capable of performing these functions safely at the required precision.

Helium is also used in scientific research, space propulsion, fiber-optic cable production, and nuclear reactor cooling. The gas is non-renewable on human timescales — once released into the atmosphere, it escapes Earth's gravity well and is gone.

The Chip Industry's Exposure

The semiconductor companies most exposed to the disruption are concentrated in South Korea and Taiwan. South Korea imported 64.7% of its helium from Qatar in 2025, according to the Korea International Trade Association, cited by Tom's Hardware. South Korea is home to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix — the two largest memory chip producers in the world, according to the New York Times and Fitch Ratings.

Fitch Ratings stated in a report cited by Fortune that South Korea is "particularly vulnerable to supply shortages because it imports about 65% of its helium from Qatar." Fitch also noted that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix "likely have several months of inventory, but it's crucial that they accelerate efforts to secure alternative sources" as the war could drag on and disrupt supplies of additional materials beyond helium.

Helium spot prices had surged up to 40% in a single week immediately following the QatarEnergy halt, according to South Korean outlet Maeil Business as cited by TrendForce. Digitimes and TrendForce separately reported that prices had climbed more than 50% overall since the disruption began. Analysts cited by TrendForce warned that if the supply squeeze continues, helium prices could reach $2,000 per 1,000 cubic feet (MCF).

Samsung is the most exposed among major chipmakers. According to analysis published by Valuates Reports, Samsung's estimated inventory buffer is 6 to 12 weeks. SK Hynix has somewhat better near-term preparedness with 8 to 16 weeks of buffer. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is in the strongest short-term position with 10 to 20 weeks of buffer, due to its more diversified supply ecosystem, according to Valuates Reports. These figures are analyst estimates, not official corporate disclosures.

Tom's Hardware reported that South Korean chipmakers faced what it described as a "two-week clock" after Qatar's LNG shutdown, as helium must typically be transported within 45 days of being liquefied before it evaporates from even well-insulated containers and reverts to gas, according to Al Jazeera's explanation of helium transport logistics.

AI, iPhones, and the Cascade Effect

The downstream impact of a helium shortage extends well beyond the semiconductor factories themselves. TSMC manufactures chips for Apple's iPhone and for Nvidia's AI accelerators — the GPUs that power large language models and AI data centers. Samsung and SK Hynix produce the DRAM and HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) chips that go inside those same Nvidia AI servers. Any production disruption at these facilities would ripple through the global AI computing supply chain at a time when AI infrastructure demand is accelerating, according to the New York Times.

Without helium, leading chipmakers including TSMC and South Korea's Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix "could struggle to keep production lines running, with cascading effects for semiconductor-powered devices from Apple's iPhones to Nvidia's A.I. servers," according to the New York Times.

The Supply Alternative — and Its Limits

The United States is the other major helium producer, accounting for a large share of the global supply alongside Qatar. U.S. production continues undisrupted. However, U.S. helium alone cannot replace the one-third of global supply that Qatar provided, particularly given the time required to ramp up extraction, liquefaction, and shipping logistics.

Russia has been cited as a potential alternative supplier — Russian media reported that Russia may step in to replace some of the Gulf shortfall, and Russia does produce helium as a byproduct of natural gas processing in Siberia. However, Russia's helium production capacity and its ability to reach Asian customers through alternative shipping routes remains significantly limited compared to Qatar's pre-war output, according to context from the available reporting.

The White House acknowledged the fertilizer problem — a related shortage — but helium's specific challenges were not directly addressed in any confirmed public statement as of March 30, 2026.

QatarEnergy's own statement that annual helium exports will drop 14% per year, combined with the Reuters report of 17% LNG capacity damage persisting for three to five years, suggests the disruption is structural rather than temporary. Even if the war ends soon, rebuilding the damaged production lines at Ras Laffan could take years according to the New York Times, meaning the helium shortage may outlast the conflict itself.