Hospitals around the world could face shortages of medical-grade helium used in MRI machines and other critical equipment as the Iran war disrupts Gulf supply chains, the head of the International Energy Agency has warned. Fatih Birol, speaking in Canberra, said the conflict had threatened not just oil and gas but a full range of vital commodities produced in and exported from the Gulf region. He described the overall crisis as equivalent to the combined force of the 1970s twin oil shocks and the Ukraine gas emergency.
The Gulf region, particularly Qatar, is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of helium, a gas that cannot be manufactured synthetically and must be extracted from natural gas reserves. Disruption to Gulf gas production and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have severely affected helium export capabilities, threatening supplies to hospitals, laboratories, and technology manufacturers worldwide. Birol said these secondary industrial and medical consequences of the conflict deserved far more attention than they had received.
The conflict began February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran and has since removed 11 million barrels of oil per day and 140 billion cubic metres of gas from world markets. At least 40 Gulf energy assets have been severely damaged, and the Hormuz strait remains closed to commercial shipping. The IEA deployed 400 million barrels from strategic petroleum reserves on March 11 — its largest ever emergency action — while calling for demand-side policies.
Birol confirmed further reserve releases were under consideration and that consultations with governments across three continents were ongoing. He also called for demand-reduction measures including remote work, lower speed limits, and reduced commercial aviation. He met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and called for coordinated international action to address all dimensions of the crisis, not just the headline oil and gas emergency.
Trump’s 48-hour ultimatum to Iran to reopen the strait expired without resolution, and Tehran threatened retaliatory strikes on US and allied energy and water infrastructure. Birol warned that the full scope of the crisis’s economic and social consequences would continue to unfold for as long as the conflict persisted. He called on governments to urgently assess and address not just the energy impacts but the full range of supply chain disruptions caused by the Iran war.