#qatar-helium-supply

#qatar-helium-supply

The leading edge chip manufacturers are now looking for six nines purity and right now that primarily comes from Exxon's facility. So all of a sudden you've got a big issue there.

Global helium consumption runs about 6 billion cubic feet per year. Qatar supplied a big slice until this month. With one-third of output sidelined, prices have already soared.

"In the Gulf, desalination is built with enough breathing room that losing one plant doesn't immediately show up at the tap," says Rabee Rustum, professor of water and environmental engineering at Heriot-Watt University Dubai.

In the silent vacuum of space, five autonomous robots churn through the lunar surface, digging up a loose layer of rock and dust and leaving rows of uniform tracks in their wake. Stopping only to recharge at a central solar power station, the car-sized machines process the lunar dirt internally to extract a type of helium so rare on Earth that a palm-sized container is estimated to be worth millions.

Qatar's minister of state for foreign affairs, Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al Khulaifi, speaks with Talk to Al Jazeera, as the Gulf faces its most dangerous escalation in years after coming under Iranian drone and missile attacks. Al Khulaifi condemns Iran's aggression, warns that attacks on energy infrastructure threaten global markets, and argues that Gulf security is inseparable from global stability.

January 2026 showed just how violent this relationship can get: Henry Hub spiked to $30.72/MMBtu on January 23 - a near-tenfold surge - before collapsing to $3.13/MMBtu by February 23. Extreme winter heating demand and supply constraints drove that move - exactly what BOIL is built to capture on the upside, and what devastates holders on the way back down.

Hyundai is exploring a "potential collaboration" with the Canadian hydrogen energy sector, it told CBC News on Thursday, as the South Korean automaker bets on natural gas-fuelled cars to be the future of the automotive industry. The revelation came a few days after Canada and South Korea signed a memorandum of understanding that will see the two co-operate in several key industries, including auto and battery manufacturing.