Russia Imposes Helium Export Controls Until 2027 Amid Global Shortage

On April 14, 2026, the Russian government imposed temporary export controls on helium, adding the noble gas to the list of commodities whose shipment outside the Eurasian Economic Union requires special permission from senior government officials. The new export regime will remain in force until the end of 2027. The decree was published by Interfax news agency and confirmed by an official government statement, taking effect immediately upon publication.

Under the new framework, helium exports to countries outside the EAEU bloc (Eurasian Economic Union) must receive direct approval from Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin or his deputies, with additional oversight from the Industry and Trade Ministry. Russian officials stated that the measure aims to prioritize supply stability for the domestic market, where helium plays a critical role in fibre optics production, increasingly used by the Russian military for drone control systems.

The timing of the Russian move is closely tied to the broader global helium crisis triggered by the ongoing war in Iran. Following Iranian drone and missile strikes on QatarEnergy's Ras Laffan Industrial City on February 28, 2026, roughly one-third of global helium supply was abruptly removed from the market. Qatar had produced approximately 63 million cubic meters of helium in 2025, out of global output of around 190 million cubic meters. The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed to Western commercial shipping since the conflict escalated, stranding an estimated 200 specialized helium containers near the waterway.

Russia ranks as the world's third-largest helium producer, accounting for approximately 8 percent of global production according to Gazprombank analysts. The country's largest helium production site is Gazprom's Amur Gas Processing Plant in the Far East, near the border with China, which is currently the largest buyer of Russian helium. Despite ambitious plans for the Amur facility to eventually supply up to 25 percent of global demand, the plant has suffered repeated setbacks including explosions, technical issues, and the impact of Western sanctions, and continues to operate well below nameplate capacity.

The consequences of tightening Russian helium supply extend across multiple critical industries. Helium is irreplaceable in semiconductor manufacturing, where it serves four key functions: cooling of EUV lithography machines, thermal regulation of silicon wafers during ion implantation, leak detection in vacuum chambers, and as an inert carrier gas for thin-film deposition. ASML's advanced EUV tools, which are the only systems capable of printing features below 7 nanometers, depend entirely on helium for cooling without contamination risk.

Spot helium prices have already surged between 40 and 100 percent since the Ras Laffan strike, with analysts warning that prolonged disruption could push prices above 2,000 USD per thousand cubic feet, matching previous shortage peaks. A 60 to 90 day squeeze is expected to increase delivered helium costs by 25 to 50 percent, with the sharpest impact falling on buyers holding weaker contract protection. Russian export restrictions now add a permission layer to an already constrained market, raising procurement risk for global buyers.

Beyond semiconductors, the restrictions create downstream effects across medical imaging, where helium is essential for MRI machine operation, as well as aerospace, welding, fibre optics manufacturing, scientific research, and quantum computing. Helium-sealed hard disk drives with capacities of 10 terabytes and above, standard across enterprise storage since 2013, face additional supply pressure in a market where Western Digital has already sold out of its 2026 production.

Prime Minister Mishustin previously chaired a strategic meeting on fuel and energy in which he warned that the war in Iran was tightening supplies of helium and other critical resources, stating that the production of medical equipment, semiconductors, AI systems, plastics, packaging, and medical engineering components was under threat. He identified helium among commodities whose export Russia could potentially increase, while emphasizing that domestic price stability remained a priority.

Industry analysts note that helium allocation during severe shortages typically follows strategic importance, with essential medical uses and defense applications receiving priority protection. Semiconductor manufacturers remain high-priority industrial users but sit below these essential categories in severe allocation scenarios, meaning chip fabs could face partial rationing, higher replacement costs, and tighter refill cycles even without being fully cut off. The combination of Qatari disruption and Russian export controls represents a structural shift in global helium supply chains that could persist well beyond the immediate crisis.