According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), global helium production increased by 8% to 1700 million cubic meters. In that year, the global helium increase was 10 million cubic meters, more than 80% of which was contributed by Qatar and Russia.
At present, the United States is still the largest player in the global helium market, accounting for 46% of the world's largest helium production in 2023, reaching 79 million cubic meters.
Of those, 60 million cubic meters came from natural gas and 19 million cubic meters from the Cliffside storage facility in northern Texas. Helium shipments at the storage facility are gradually decreasing: from 49 million cubic meters in 2013, to 26 million cubic meters in 2018, and then to 19 million cubic meters in 2023.
Qatar's helium production is growing year by year, from 25 million cubic meters in 2013 to 45 million cubic meters in 2018 and 66 million cubic meters in 2023.
Qatar has three helium production sites with a total capacity of 72.8 million cubic meters per year, operated by Qatar Gas (Qatargas). Excluding the Cliffside storage facility, Qatar has become the world's largest producer of helium.
Russian helium** is also expected to increase significantly in the coming years. The Amur gas processing plant (GPP) has a helium production capacity equivalent to one-third of the current global ** volume, reaching 60 million cubic meters per year.
According to the US Geological Survey, Russian helium production reached 8 million cubic meters in 2023. The increase in the load on the helium production line of the Amur gas processing plant will allow Russia to produce more helium than Algeria.
By the end of 2023, Algeria ranked third in the world with a production of 10 million cubic meters.