You’re going to pay more for your tech gadgets thanks to Qatar’s natural gas shutdown

Your next smartphone or laptop was already going to be more expensive thanks to rising RAM prices — and Donald Trump and Bibi Netanyahu’s war against Iran just made it a whole lot worse.

South Korea’s semiconductor industry is staring down the barrel of a supply chain emergency that will have devicemakers paying more for components.

Blame the conflict in the Gulf: QatarEnergy’s Ras Laffan complex going offline at the start of the month has all but halted Qatar’s ability to produce helium. The gas is a critical — and often non-substitutable — ingredient used for semiconductor manufacturing, along with several other applications.

By the numbers: Qatar produced around 63 mn cubic meters of helium in 2025, nearly one-third of global supply, according to US Geological Survey data. The Korea International Trade Association estimates the country sourced 64.7% of its helium from Qatar last year — a vulnerability that takes on strategic weight given that South Korea and Taiwan each account for 18% of global semiconductor manufacturing capacity.

Spot prices have already jumped 20-40%, with prices doubling in some transactions. If the outage stretches to 60-90 days, delivered prices could rise 25-50%.

The industrial gas majors with the heaviest Qatar exposure — Linde, Air Products and Chemicals, Air Liquide, and Japan's Iwatani — are the most immediately in the line of fire. Air Products has said it is “taking steps to ensure continuity of supply” without elaborating. Air Liquide said it draws from multiple continental sources and maintains a storage cavern in Europe, providing some buffer. Iwatani has fared relatively well so far, partly because it also sources from the US and holds stockpiles in both countries. JPMorgan suggests Linde could emerge as a winner in this equation, arguing that the company’s long-term contract structure allows it to pass through cost inflation and that tightening helium and rare gas markets could offset softness in Asia and Europe.

South Korea is looking for a pivot: SK Hynix has since said it has diversified supply and secured adequate inventory, while TSMC said it hasn’t seen a material impact, but is monitoring developments. Seoul’s Trade Ministry launched a review of 14 semiconductor materials that have “high dependence” on inputs sourced from the Middle East.

Look for suppliers to start triaging their clients if supplies don’t improve soon: Kornbluth Helium Consulting says MRI systems and rocket programs would receive 100% of their needs, semiconductor fabs around 95%. Welding, diving, and party balloons would face the steepest cuts — not great for your next birthday party (or for homebuilders, for that matter).

The bottom line for consumers: RAM prices are already going through the roof thanks to the AI boom. Spiraling helium prices will make the next batch of semiconductors more expensive — and the skyrocketing price of oil is going to it even costlier to get devices into stores. Maybe now is the time to buy that smartphone or laptop if you’ve been sitting on the sidelines?