Russia will throttle the export of noble gases (such as neon)
Russia will limit exports of noble gases, which are also necessary for the production of microchips. Ukraine was a major supplier, but the war stopped production
On Thursday, Russia announced that it will limit exports of noble gases such as neon (a raw material necessary for chip production) until the end of 2022 to strengthen its market position. More specifically, the Russian government has explained that the foreign sales of noble gases will be allowed only to those who obtain a special permit from the state; the policy will remain in effect until next December 31st.
THE VERSION OF MOSCOW
Contacted by Reuters , the Russian Commerce Ministry said the move will offer the opportunity to "reorganize the chains that have been broken and build new ones."
"We plan to increase our [noble gas] production capacity in the near future," the ministry said. "We believe we will have the opportunity to be heard in this global chain, and this will give us a competitive edge if we need to build mutually beneficial deals with our peers."
WAR BLOCKS UKRAINE
Moscow's decision will aggravate the (pre-existing) difficulties of the chip industry by making the procurement of a base material more complicated.
One of the main suppliers of noble gases was Ukraine, but due to the Russian invasion it had to suspend production at the plants in Mariupol and Odessa. The Donbass , the region of eastern Ukraine where the "phase two" of the Russian offensive is concentrated, is a very important pole of neon production.
HOW MUCH RUSSIA MATTERS
Russia is worth 30 percent of the world supply of noble gases.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/russia-gas-nobili-limiti-esportazione/ on Mon, 06 Jun 2022 05:05:39 +0000.