When we last looked at the helium market in March, the immediate concern was the Strait of Hormuz. Qatar, the world’s second-largest helium producer, accounted for around 35% of global output in 2024, and the shutdown at Ras Laffan exposed how much of the market depended on a few plants and shipping routes. Within days, spot helium prices had roughly doubled as buyers scrambled for alternative supply.
Six months later, that disruption has not simply faded into the background. On 15th September, only four vessels carrying commodities were recorded transiting Hormuz, compared with a pre-war average of around 125 a day. The damage at Ras Laffan has also proved more serious than a short operational interruption, with QatarEnergy now seeking US LNG supply agreements running through to 2031 while parts of its damaged infrastructure are repaired.
For helium, the connection is direct. Qatar recovers helium as a byproduct of natural gas processing, so disruptions to LNG operations also constrain helium production, a relationship highlighted in the original March Reuters report. That is why the events around Hormuz matter beyond energy markets alone, they affect a specialist gas used in medical imaging, semiconductor manufacturing, aerospace and scientific research.
The argument in March was therefore not simply that war risk could push helium prices higher for a few weeks. It was that the crisis exposed how concentrated and fragile the supply chain had become, and why additional sources outside the Gulf could become more strategically important. Six months on, that question has become more pressing, because the market has adapted, but the underlying concentration problem has not gone away.
Quantum Helium, Sagebrush Moves Beyond Exploration
Quantum Helium (AIM: QHE) has moved beyond the early exploration story we described in March. The company increased its working interest in the Sagebrush project in Colorado from 82.5% to 90% and formally assumed operatorship in April.
An extended production test at Sagebrush 1 then reconfirmed helium at approximately 2.5%, broadly consistent with the well’s historic 2.76% result. The same programme also showed strong pressure recovery and connectivity within the Leadville reservoir, giving Quantum more technical evidence than it had six months ago.
The resource picture has become clearer as well. Independent work has established combined 2U gross helium resources of 1.104 Bcf across Sagebrush and Coyote Wash, comprising 0.134 Bcf at Sagebrush and 0.97 Bcf at Coyote Wash. During the same testing programme, more than 80 barrels of oil were recovered from the Leadville Formation by mid-June, establishing an additional hydrocarbon opportunity alongside helium. Existing Sagebrush oil production also generated gross revenue of US$316,263 during the six months to 30th June.
Funding is another area where the position has strengthened. Quantum completed a £5 million institutional placing in April to support engineering, permitting and further development work, while year-end cash stood at approximately A$10.54 million. By 9th September that balance was around A$8.48 million. The company also completed a 100 for 1 share consolidation in July, leaving it with a cleaner capital structure as it moves into the next phase.
Quantum has not yet shown the sustained helium flow needed for commercial development, and that remains the critical gap. Its next programme is expected to include a larger stimulation and testing campaign at Sagebrush, while permitting and drill planning continue across additional Colorado targets. The company expects to complete its current engineering and reservoir optimisation work during the present quarter, with further testing to follow. Quantum therefore sits in the middle of this group, no longer a simple exploration concept, but still needing to turn encouraging reservoir data and defined resources into sustained helium production.
