Middle East tensions disrupt helium supply chain; multiple A-share companies respond with limited impact; industry chain accelerates localization

The conflict between the U.S. and Iran continues to disrupt the helium market, Qatar tightens supply, pushing the price of this rare gas into an upward channel.

Luntan Information data shows that since February 28, China’s imported bundled high-purity helium has risen from about 75 yuan per cubic meter to about 92 yuan per cubic meter. However, multiple domestic listed companies, responding to a reporter from Caixin media, said that the current company helium price adjustment magnitude is relatively limited.

Industry analysts believe that next, the price of bundled helium gas is expected to jump sharply, with the period from late March to April being an important window. In the future, changes in helium’s supply-demand fundamentals will still be the core factor driving helium price fluctuations.

A reporter with Caixin Media noted that the localization process of the helium industry chain is accelerating. For example, leading domestic helium-extraction company JiuFeng Energy (605090.SH) has relatively scarce domestic helium production and supply capacity, and also builds liquid helium storage tank assets and liquid helium resource operations in parallel; GuangGang Gas (688548.SH) is the largest helium supplier in China; Hangzhou Oxygen (002430.SZ) has capability to ensure supply of electronic-grade helium, and is also the first company in China to break through domestically producing helium tanks.

With supply and demand tightly balanced, prices are expected to rise

Helium is a byproduct in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing process, extracted through low-temperature distillation and separation.

In terms of downstream applications, helium is an important input for multiple industries and has wide uses. For example, helium enables rapid cooling of components in semiconductor, liquid crystal panel, and fiber-optic cable manufacturing, can also control heat transfer rate to improve production efficiency and reduce defects.

“Currently, global helium supply is slightly greater than demand, but the Middle East situation in recent times is pushing it into a tight supply-demand balance.” Zhongchuang Information analyst Chen Wengui said that, based on the global distribution of helium resources, they are mainly concentrated in Qatar, Russia, the U.S., and other places, and Qatar’s capacity share reaches around 35%.

According to CCTV Finance and Economics reporting, Iran’s attacks caused about 17% of Iran’s liquefied natural gas export capacity to be disrupted. A recent estimate by Bank of America suggests that, depending on different market conditions, spot helium prices have already risen by as much as around 40%.

How have domestic helium prices changed? The reporter called multiple relevant listed companies and learned that, at present, the magnitude of price adjustments is relatively limited, and many companies said helium accounts for a small proportion of their business.

A staff member from JiuFeng Energy’s securities department said that the helium business segment “is still not a particularly high proportion.” In terms of downstream applications, the company’s helium is mainly used for commercial space activities, and is also used for some end users through retail channels; domestic helium prices do show an upward trend at present, and the company’s helium prices follow market conditions.

A staff member from Hangzhou Oxygen’s securities department admitted that the helium business’s share of the company’s overall revenue is not particularly high. The company’s process extracts helium from air, and helium’s concentration in air is inherently relatively low. “We install refined extraction units on some large-scale air separation equipment to extract components of rare gases such as helium.”

Regarding recent changes in helium prices, the staff member said that under the influence of the Middle East situation, overseas helium sources have been reduced, and the overall helium output going forward will also decrease. If demand remains unchanged, prices will still move upward.

A person from the securities department of JinHong Gas (688106.SH) said that as of the third quarter of 2025, the company’s helium revenue is about 100 million yuan, accounting for roughly 5% of the company’s revenue. The company currently has stable overseas helium sources, and the BOG helium extraction project in Xinjiang is under construction; at present, the company’s helium price has not changed much.

A person from the securities department of Farther Gas (688268.SH) said that the proportion of helium products in the company’s total revenue is limited, and the magnitude of price adjustments is also limited.

A team from ZT Jingtaian Materials & Chemical, Sun Ying, believes that with the Strait of Hormuz blockade, in-transit helium will basically be digested step by step. If helium inventories enter a phase of rapid consumption, prices may jump; late March to April is an important period to watch.

Chen Wengui said that both short-term and long-term fluctuations in helium prices cannot be separated from the transmission of supply-demand fundamentals. In the short term, beyond changes in fundamentals, attention must also be focused on variables such as current policy adjustments, geopolitical conditions, and failures of key equipment, logistics bottlenecks, and so on. Over the long term, it is more likely that the pace of commissioning new production capacity and the sustained growth in core downstream demand such as semiconductors will play a bigger role. Meanwhile, the popularization of recycling technology and the development of emerging applications are reshaping the market landscape from both structural and marginal dimensions.

Is the expectation for localization heating up?

Helium’s applications are mainly concentrated in fields such as nuclear magnetic resonance, semiconductors, and aerospace. Among them, the nuclear magnetic resonance field accounts for around 29%, and the usage in semiconductors and aerospace also shows a steady upward trend. In the future, as high-tech fields continue to develop, areas such as aerospace quantum computing and nuclear fusion will also become new growth points for helium applications.

China is currently one of the world’s major helium-consuming countries. “In terms of supply, on the one hand, the domestic substitution rate is rising slightly; on the other hand, the import market is shifting from highly concentrated source regions to a diversified risk-hedging model. With Qatar’s price advantage being weakened, over the past three years, the share of resources shipped into China has decreased by about 27 percentage points.” Chen Wengui told a reporter from Caixin Media.

According to data from Zhongchuang Information, in January and February this year, China’s import volume of helium from Qatar was 379.426 tons, down 15.71% year over year, accounting for 41%. Market analysis suggests that due to the Middle East situation, Qatar’s helium supply is unlikely to recover in the short term, and the import volume from this market may further decline.

A reporter with Caixin Media noted that currently, many domestic manufacturers are still planning helium-related production capacity. In addition to the listed companies mentioned above, the helium extraction from LNG-BOG equipment project in Inner Mongolia YaHai LNG-BOG, invested and built by Shudao Equipment (300540.SZ), can extract and refine helium from the BOG gas of LNG units; the Qingyang project invested and constructed by ShuiFa Gas (603318.SH) is expected to begin production by the end of 2026, and after reaching full capacity, will produce 500,000 cubic meters of helium per year; JiuFeng Energy said that in 2025, based on its existing Inner Mongolia SenTai 500,000 cubic meters per year of refined helium production capacity, it completed the construction of the Sichuan Luzhou 1 million cubic meters per year of refined helium project, raising its helium production capacity to 1.5 million cubic meters per year, and gradually entering the production ramp-up phase.

Looking ahead to the next three years, supply fluctuations and demand-structure upgrades are key variables in the global helium market that are worth paying attention to.

Chen Wengui said that on the supply side, one should watch the expansion of new production capacity at home and abroad, as well as the impact brought by geopolitics, such as the continuity of Qatar’s supply, Russia’s ability to deliver, and the impact of the U.S. strategic privatization, etc. On the demand side, going forward, it will be a dual-wheel drive from semiconductors and emerging technologies. Overall, in the future, the growth rate of helium supply will be higher than the growth rate of demand, but a price rebound caused by relatively large short-term supply fluctuations cannot be ruled out.

(Source: Caixin Media)