'Golden Gas' Crisis Hits Global Chip Chain? Middle East Conflict Affects Global Semiconductor Production

TradingKey - The spillover effects of the Middle East conflict are rapidly spreading from energy markets to the semiconductor supply chain. Latest reports indicate that Iranian strikes on Qatari energy facilities have severely impacted the supply of helium, dubbed the "golden gas." This seemingly "niche" industrial gas is emerging as a critical risk variable for the global chip industry.

According to reports, Qatar accounts for more than 30% of global helium supply, and the damage to its core production facilities has caused a sudden contraction in global supply. In just two weeks, helium spot prices have doubled, contract surcharges have risen significantly, and the supply crunch is rapidly becoming manifest.

The importance of helium is reflected in its "irreplaceability" within semiconductor manufacturing.

During the wafer etching process, helium is used for efficient heat dissipation to maintain process stability. The industry generally believes that no viable alternatives currently exist for advanced manufacturing processes. This implies that if supply is restricted, the pace of chip production will be directly constrained.

From a supply chain perspective, Asian semiconductor manufacturers are the first to be affected. South Korean firms' dependency on Qatari helium is nearly 65%, and memory giants including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are facing potential supply shocks. Market data shows that the market capitalization of related companies has evaporated by over $200 billion this month alone, reflecting investor anxiety over mid-term capacity declines.

Analysts point out that because in-transit inventory has not yet been depleted, the true supply shortage may break out in the coming weeks. Once helium supply is interrupted, chipmakers may be forced to prioritize high-margin products, such as AI-related chips, while sectors like consumer electronics will be the first to come under pressure.

Mainstream institutions are also sounding the alarm on these risks. Bloomberg analysis suggests that this event underscores the global semiconductor supply chain's reliance on "critical but low-profile raw materials," while geopolitical conflicts are magnifying this sensitive vulnerability.

Meanwhile, Reuters previously noted that even though the U.S. and Australia possess alternative supply capabilities, supply chain restructuring takes time and is unlikely to fully offset the impact in the short term.

From a more macro perspective, this helium crisis is linking with previous energy shocks to reshape market perceptions of "supply chain security." Contrary to traditional views, it is no longer just advanced processes or equipment that limit chip capacity, but rather "hidden bottlenecks" in upstream materials that few people monitor.

Bromine may become the next element to be affected.

Wall Street News pointed out that, beyond helium, the strategic importance of bromine in semiconductor manufacturing cannot be ignored.

Its core role is concentrated in the etching stage—high-purity hydrogen bromide is widely used in the polysilicon etching process for DRAM and NAND flash memory and is a key gaseous material affecting process precision and yield.

Even more concerning is its supply structure: South Korea relies on Israel for approximately 97.5% of its bromine imports, making it one of the upstream semiconductor categories with the highest exposure to Middle Eastern geopolitical risks. Although bromine has not yet entered the "manifest shock" stage, its risk profile has shifted from "low-profile" to "highly sensitive."

If regional conflicts spread further, this previously ignored niche material could rapidly evolve into a critical bottleneck limiting memory chip production capacity.