The global helium market may have been in a state of over-supply in 2014, but as our previous feature explains, that does not spell the end of fragilities in the helium supply chain. Nor are we likely to see questions subside where sourcing and pricing are concerned.
It would be easy to be lulled into a false sense of security with the current position of over-supply, but it is perhaps fair to say that the world will never be far away from potential shortages.
While much depends on the rate of growth of helium demand, and both potential plant outages and their severity, this over-supply is expected to ease within one to two years, with the market expected to balance out by the end of 2016. Within just a few years of this rebalancing, one of the world’s biggest sources of supply will be running commercially dry.
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