By
27 min ago 2 min read
Industrial gas major Linde has increased helium prices amid shipping disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict.
Speaking on the company’s third quarter investor call, CEO Sanjiv Lamba said, “Our pricing actions have been very focused around ensuring that the dislocation costs that come with this increased supply chain and sourcing challenges are…recovered appropriately.”
Lamba said Linde has served its existing helium customers “extremely well” while also signing new customers to long-term helium supply agreements.
The company shared that helium pricing had already begun to increase following the Middle East conflict during its .
However, during the , Linde expressed confidence in its ability to maintain helium supplies despite ongoing tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, citing the strength and diversity of its global supply chain.
Lamba corroborated this sentiment during today’s call, highlighting Linde’s management of the whole supply chain as a strength.
“We moved about 340 containers in the last quarter…and we moved it from all over the world between our sources in the US to our sources in in North Africa to our sources in Europe and some sources in Asia,” he added.
Lamba also said the company’s view is that Qatar is likely to reach approximately 75% of its production levels.
“The challenge is not on the production side…the challenge is the ability to get anything out, unless you do a very convoluted supply chain using land routes,” he noted.
This comes after Megan Sutcliffe, Principal Analyst at Sibylline, Middle East and Africa, stated that helium exports would be in Q4 2026 or even Q1 2027 even if a firm agreement were secured to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, during the opening keynote of gasworld’s Helium Super Summit.
