Overview
- QatarEnergy's Ras Laffan LNG hub remains offline nine days after Iranian drone strikes, removing associated helium output and constraining exports through the Strait of Hormuz.
- Qatar supplies about one-third of the world’s helium, and an extended Hormuz closure could take more than a quarter of global volumes off the market, according to industry estimates.
- Spot and delivered prices have risen sharply, with reports of spot quotes up 50% to as much as double since the crisis began.
- Chipmakers report contingency steps: SK hynix says it diversified supply and has inventory, while TSMC reports no notable impact yet but is monitoring.
- Experts say restarting LNG and revalidating supply chains could take weeks to months, with a two- to three-month outage potentially extending market disruption to four to six months given logistical limits and helium’s short storage life.