Qatar has closed two plants for the production of helium located in the country’s territory due to the embargo imposed on the 5th of June by a number of Arab States, Reuters reports on Wednesday with reference to its sources in the industry.
According to the agency, RasGas, a subsidiary of Qatar Petroleum, was forced to close its helium plants due to the fact that Saudi Arabia had closed its border with Qatar, blocking the terrestrial export of gas.
Qatar is the world's second largest producer of helium, and the combined capacity of these two enterprises can meet about 25% of total world gas demand.
As a reference, on the 5th of June, Bahrain, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya's interim government, the Republic of Maldives and Republic of Mauritius announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Qatar, citing the claims that the Emirate supports terrorism and extremist ideology.
