Upcoming Event: Richard Brook Presents the Five-Year Helium Market Forecast — Houston, October 19–21
Issue No. 13 | October 12, 2026
THE BROOK REPORT
Market intelligence on Helium, Helium-3, & Cryogenic Technology
A weekly report on trends shaping our industry
CURATED NEWS FOR ALL THINGS HELIUM
⭐️ Brook's Pick of the Week
INOX Air Products’ IPO prospectus offers an unusually clear look inside India's helium business. Helium revenue fell from about US$13.97 million in FY2024 to US$5.96 million in FY2025 and US$5.88 million in FY2026—a roughly 58% decline over two years. Helium’s share of product sales dropped from 6.48% to 2.36%.
The filing reports an approximately 35% decline in helium sales volume in FY2025, while revenue fell about 57%. That implies roughly a 34% reduction in average revenue per unit sold. Customer and product mix may explain part of the change, so this should not be treated as a direct measurement of market-wide helium price declines. Nevertheless, the disclosure demonstrates why volume, realized revenue, and profitability deserve separate scrutiny.
Helium scarcity does not guarantee stronger financial performance for every supplier. INOX’s filing provides revenue and volume disclosures that test industry narratives. For helium executives, the next questions concern sourcing costs, customer mix, realized selling prices, and margins. The commercial lesson is straightforward: a supply-constrained market and a profitable helium business are separate propositions. Furthermore, issues of supply may be concentrated in one or more regions but not necessarily in every region. This is yet another aspect of the complicated global helium business.
Currency note: All three fiscal years use the same indicative conversion of ₹96.82 per US$1, reported October 9, 2026. These are comparable dollar equivalents, rather than historical dollar revenues translated at each year’s exchange rate.
Four Ras Laffan LNG carriers reportedly crossed Hormuz, suggesting improved access to exports; these movements alone do not establish the resumption of helium shipments or reliable customer deliveries. We hear that QatarEnergy output is growing toward 50 ISOs/month. But we've been here before (in fact, higher) before the intensity of missile and drone attacks forced a reduction.
It does seem that the situation is starting to look more and more like a "Barbary Coast" piracy and extortion racket.
D3 restored gas access after remedial cementing and reported 5.2% helium; further remediation and production testing must establish whether the well can deliver commercially useful flow.
Helix reported its strongest drilling helium readings at Ollie, but completion testing remains ahead and Rudyard production is paused; additional commercial output is not yet demonstrated.
CSNS-II’s helium recovery and purification equipment passed factory acceptance, advancing hardware intended to reduce replacement purchases; installation and operating recovery performance remain the next milestones.
Commonwealth Fusion ordered over 10,000 kilometers of superconducting tape; its demonstrated helium cooling reinforces that high-temperature superconductors do not automatically eliminate helium requirements in fusion systems.
NASA is targeting an uncrewed Starliner test in December–January following helium leaks and thruster failures, underscoring the reliability of pressurization systems as a consequential engineering challenge in aerospace helium applications.
X-energy completed TX-1’s main building structure, advancing fuel infrastructure for its reactor program; potential helium demand still depends on reactor construction, commissioning and actual operating requirements