Japan's helium imports from the US fell to 7mmcf in May 2022, the weakest level ever seen and around 40% lower than the average monthly imports from the US over the previous year. This has been a constant trend over the years but we see the recent weakness on the back of the rationing of exports from the US given the US BLM shutdown throughout most of H1'22. On the flip side, Japanese imports from Qatar in May were at the highest level seen since 2015 as Japan looks to Qatar to fill the gap.
Monthly Japanese helium imports from US and Qatar (mmcf)
Source: AKAP Energy estimates