South Korea is stocking up on helium and praying that the situation in the Middle East does not get worse.
Two sources said the country has enough stock until at least June, and the industry minister said there should be no disruption in the first half despite the war in Iran rattling supplies.
Helium prices have jumped after the US-Israel war on Iran disrupted natural gas processing in Qatar, the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas supplier.
A government official told Reuters South Korea has enough inventory to ride out the first half, which matters when Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix sit at the centre of global chip output.
The same official said companies are paying premiums to lock in supply, mainly from the United States. A government official said: “Price aside, securing the stock right now is the top priority.”
Industry minister Kim Jung-kwan told President Lee Jae Myung in a cabinet meeting on Tuesday that helium supplies were unlikely to be disrupted during the first half, without offering much detail.
A second source at a helium supplier said Samsung and SK Hynix have four to six months of helium on hand.
That supplier sources helium from both the United States and Qatar, giving it a fallback when Gulf flows get choppy.
Qatar produces nearly a third of the global helium supply and ranks second after the United States, but Iranian attacks on gas facilities have prompted QatarEnergy to declare force majeure for customers.
Taiwan said last week its helium supplies were stable, yet some firms in the chip supply chain have already hinted that production is starting to feel the squeeze.
Samsung and industry groups told lawmakers this month that helium and bromine are among the semiconductor materials most at risk if the Iran conflict drags on, alongside higher energy costs.
SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won pointed to Middle East tensions driving up energy prices, prompting the conglomerate to seek alternative sources, since cheap power does not grow on trees.
