Iran war halts Qatar helium output, threatening global tech supply chains

Iran's attack this week on Qatar's natural gas export facility threatens to disrupt not just world energy markets but also global technology supply chains because the helium it produces is crucial for a range of advanced industries.

The gas that makes party balloons float is a byproduct of natural gas production, and a key input in chipmaking, space rockets and medical imaging.

Qatar supplies a third of the world's helium, according to the US Geological Survey, and had to halt production shortly after the war erupted three weeks ago. After repeated Iranian drone attacks on Ras Laffan, the world's largest liquefied natural gas plant, state-owned QatarGas reported "extensive" damage that will take years to repair and cut annual helium exports by 14 per cent.