New Helium Supply: Russia’s Amur, US Producers and New Projects

How much new helium supply does the market need?

New helium projects are being judged against a simple question: how much of Qatar's lost output can they replace? Before the war, the market was well supplied. Helium consultant Phil Kornbluth told a gasworld conference that it had been in oversupply since early 2024, with effective global capacity of about 7.3 billion cubic feet (bcf) a year against demand of about 6.2 bcf ^[2]. The disruption in Qatar and Russia's new export controls now threaten to end that surplus ^[2].

The US Geological Survey (USGS) estimates world production at about 190 million m³ in 2025. The United States produced 81 million m³, Qatar 63 million m³, Russia 18 million m³, Algeria 11 million m³ and Canada 6 million m³ ^[1]. Gazprom's Amur helium plant, which Frontier India says would be the world's largest helium producer at full capacity, is designed for a similar volume ^[4]. The other projects reviewed here are much smaller: North American Helium's new Saskatchewan plant, for example, adds a little over 1% ^[12].

Russia's Amur plant: the largest new source of helium

Gazprom's Amur gas processing plant in the Russian Far East is designed to process 42 billion m³ of gas a year on six lines and to produce up to 60 million m³ of helium a year ^[3,4]. That is close to Qatar's entire 2025 output ^[1]. The first line started in June 2021 ^[4]. A fire and explosion in October 2021, about a month after commissioning, set the project back ^[9].

According to Frontier India, four lines were running in December 2025, with the fifth starting up and the sixth under construction. Full design capacity was expected in 2026, although no date had been officially confirmed. Helium is exported through a logistics centre in Vladivostok ^[4].

Actual output remains well below design. The USGS estimates Russian production at 17 million m³ in 2024 and 18 million m³ in 2025 ^[1]. Policy also limits where Amur's helium can go. EU and US bans on helium imports from Russia remained in force in 2025 ^[1]. An analysis in the Columbia Political Review says Gazprom supplied about half of China's helium imports in 2025, with volumes up 60% on the year ^[6].

On 14 April 2026, Russia introduced a temporary authorisation procedure for helium exports outside the Eurasian Economic Union, valid until the end of 2027. Exports need a decision by the prime minister or one of his deputies, based on proposals from the Industry and Trade Ministry. The government said the aim was to keep the domestic market supplied ^[5].

US helium production after the Federal Helium Reserve sale

The United States remains the largest producer. Sales of Grade-A and gaseous helium were about 81 million m³ in 2025, valued at about $970 million ^[1]. Six new operations started that year: three in New Mexico and one each in Colorado, Kansas and Montana. A storage cavern in Beaumont, Texas, came online to hold surplus output ^[1].

Messer completed its purchase of the Federal Helium System from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in June 2024. The deal included the Federal Helium Reserve, the Cliffside field and its wells, and a 423-mile crude helium pipeline ^[7]. Congress directed the sale under the Helium Stewardship Act of 2013, and the BLM transferred $460 million in proceeds to the Treasury in December 2024 ^[8]. The reserve is a finite stock. In 2023, Physics Today reported that the pipeline supplied about half of US helium, and Kornbluth estimated it would take 10 years or more to empty the reserve ^[9].

New US supply is coming from smaller fields. Helium One and operator Blue Star Helium achieved first gas at the Galactica project on 22 December 2025. By March 2026 six wells were tied in, and the first helium had been sold at spot prices ^[13]. Asian buyers are turning to US-sourced supply. Linde and Air Products, which source mainly from the United States, signed additional long-term contracts with Samsung and SK hynix ^[10].

Algeria and Qatar: helium capacity tied to LNG

Algeria produced about 11 million m³ in 2025 and holds estimated reserves of 1.8 billion m³ ^[1]. Its helium is recovered at liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants. HELIOS, a joint venture of Air Products and Sonatrach, has supplied the European market from its plant at Arzew for more than 25 years. In 2018 the partners agreed to recover helium from two more LNG facilities, GL1Z and GL3Z ^[11].

The Columbia Political Review analysis puts Algeria's helium capacity at 50 million m³ a year. It says Algeria's LNG plants ran at less than 40% of capacity in 2025, and only one of the three units at the HELISON plant in Skikda was operating ^[6]. Because helium is a by-product, the article argues that Algeria's output cannot be raised independently of its gas economics ^[6].

Qatar holds the largest identified resources outside the United States ^[1]. In 2023, Physics Today reported that a new Qatari LNG plant due in 2027 could add up to 42 million m³ of helium a year ^[9]. That estimate predates the 2026 attacks on Ras Laffan, which damaged 17% of Qatar's LNG export capacity ^[6]. We cover the gas side in our analysis of LNG, gas prices and urea in 2026.

Helium exploration: Canada, Tanzania and South Africa

Exploration has spread worldwide, and the USGS notes that some deposits are not associated with hydrocarbons. New helium facilities began operating in Canada and South Africa in 2025 ^[1].

Canada (Saskatchewan). North American Helium (NAH) brought its Stewart Valley plant in south-west Saskatchewan onstream on 20 September 2026. Its initial sales rate is about 73 million cubic feet of helium a year, which the company says adds more than 1% of world supply. Ryder Scott assigned 1.1 bcf of reserves, and NAH expects flat output for up to nine years. NAH is also working towards an investment decision on Canada's first regional helium liquefier, in Swift Current ^[12].

Tanzania (Rukwa). Helium One received what it describes as Tanzania's first helium mining licence, covering 480 km² in the southern Rukwa basin, in July 2025 ^[13]. An independent report estimated contingent resources of 296 million cubic feet (2C), rising to 1.35 bcf (3C). It outlined phases from a five-well pilot to about 46 additional wells. No final investment decision had been taken ^[14]. In March 2026 the company reported a 20-day pump test with sustained helium concentrations of 5.4% and a peak of 9.2% (air-corrected). The gas-to-water ratio was at the lower end of the expected range, and Helium One has begun a farm-out process to find a partner ^[13].

South Africa (Virginia). Renergen was acquired by ASP Isotopes in January 2026 ^[16]. On 26 October, ASP Isotopes said commissioning at the Virginia Gas Project was complete and that it was producing liquid helium steadily into storage ahead of first deliveries. Phase 1 is designed for about 70 Mcf a day of liquid helium and 2,500 GJ a day of LNG, with nameplate output expected in the fourth quarter of 2026 ^[15]. The project has missed earlier targets. It delivered 52.6 kg of liquid helium in March 2025, then paused production until feed-gas volumes were sufficient ^[16].

What constrains new helium supply?

• Financing. ASP Isotopes plans to seek $750 million of senior debt from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Standard Bank ^[16]. Its own filing lists the risk that this funding is delayed or not received ^[15]. Helium One is seeking a partner for Rukwa ^[13].
• Sanctions and export controls. Western bans on Russian helium and Moscow's approval procedure limit where Amur's output can go ^[1,5].
• By-product economics. Helium from gas processing rises and falls with gas output, as Algeria's underused plants show ^[6].
• Logistics. Liquid helium has a short shelf life: the Columbia Political Review says containers hold it for 35 to 40 days ^[6]. In 2023, Physics Today noted that a US export restriction on superinsulated containers, mainly made by Gardner Cryogenics, complicated shipments from new sources ^[9]. Canada has no regional liquefier yet, which NAH aims to change ^[12].

What to watch

• Amur. Whether the fifth and sixth lines reach design rates, and how many export approvals Moscow grants ^[4,5].
• First deliveries from the Virginia Gas Project and its progress towards nameplate output ^[15].
• Investment decisions on Rukwa and the Swift Current liquefier ^[13,12].
• The supply balance. Whether new volumes restore the surplus Kornbluth described before 2026 ^[2].

Alupetra does not trade helium; it follows the gas-market developments that affect helium supply from its Istanbul, London and Dubai offices.