Since late February, the conflict in Iran has choked shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and disrupted the global supply of critical resources. But while shortages of oil and liquified natural gas dominate our strategic attention, there is a small-volume commodity shipped through the Strait of Hormuz whose absence will have worldwide consequences: Helium.
Helium is crucial to MRI machines, semiconductors, fiber optics, and aerospace systems—and in high-demand cryogenic applications, nothing can replace it. More than one third of the world’s helium supply is exported by Qatar and the UAE, which have no viable alternative shipping routes with the Strait of Hormuz blocked.
Where will helium supply stress be felt most acutely? Which bilateral shipping corridors carry most of the risk? How should policymakers and industry stakeholders react to ensuing helium supply disruption? These are key questions explored in this NSDPI paper analyzing the risks to the Persian Gulf helium trade and how policymakers should navigate it.
Key takeaways include:
- At a macro-level, Germany, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and Singapore are among the countries most reliant upon Qatar for imports of rare gases like helium.
- Helium is costly to store and transport while being susceptible to boil-off during transit, so prolonged chokepoint disruption will likely result in significant loss of product, not just delayed shipments.
- Our findings support a corridor-first approach to policy and planning, focusing primarily on the Qatar–India, UAE–Pakistan, and Qatar/UAE–United States lanes, which have the highest combination of volume and disruption sensitivity.