Yet the disruption might actually benefit one chip manufacturer more than it hurts it. I’m talking about the lone American memory chip producer, Micron Technology (MU<\/a> +6.43%).<\/p>\n Image source: Getty Images<\/p>\n Lighter than a feather<\/p>\n Let’s start with the problem: The main source of helium is a by-product of natural gas refining.<\/p>\n Two countries are responsible for three-fourths of the world’s helium: The United States produces 42.6% of it, and Qatar produces 33.2%.<\/p>\n But Qatar’s production is down now, after an Iranian missile struck the world’s largest natural gas refinery at Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar. The strike took out 17% of Qatar’s total liquefied natural gas capacity, and it could take up to five years to complete repairs.<\/p>\n That missile also disrupted a third of the world’s helium supply, and the countries most impacted by Qatar’s diminished output are in Asia, namely South Korea, which is home to Micron’s two largest competitors, Samsung and SK Hynix.<\/p>\n South Korea imports 64.7% of its industrial helium from Qatar, through the Strait of Hormuz. So, even South Korea’s diminished output is still bottled up in the Persian Gulf amid ongoing hostilities between the U.S. and Iran during ceasefire negotiations.<\/p>\n Other major chip-producing countries like Taiwan, China, and Japan are also affected, but Micron’s only real competitors in memory hardware are both based in South Korea and do the bulk of their manufacturing there or in Asia more broadly. However, both Samsung<\/a> and SK Hynix have or plan to have factories in the United States.<\/p>\n But essential for heavy industry<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1777973119_559_.jpeg\"\/)
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