Pakistan RLNG Imports Fall 27% to Eight-Year Low as High Tariffs Suppress Gas Demand

What the import data revealed

Pakistan imported 27% less re-gasified liquefied natural gas in FY26, pushing volumes to their lowest point since FY2018. The decline marks the sharpest contraction in the country's LNG import programme in nearly a decade. Pakistan had leaned heavily on RLNG from 2018 onwards to bridge domestic gas supply shortfalls for power plants and industrial consumers. The reversal now reflects the cumulative impact of steep tariff increases, including a 16.17% RLNG price hike announced in June 2026, which pushed gas costs beyond what many large buyers were willing to absorb at scale.

RLNG (re-gasified liquefied natural gas, meaning imported LNG converted back to gas form at the terminal) was the fuel Pakistan counted on to keep the lights on and fertilizer plants running during a decade of domestic gas depletion. An eight-year import trough signals that strategy has been curtailed, at least at current price levels.

Why it matters for the energy supply chain

When imports fall at this scale, the financial consequences run through the companies that sit at the centre of Pakistan's LNG procurement and distribution chain. RLNG does not flow directly from a terminal to an end user: it passes through procurement entities, regasification terminals, and distribution networks, each of which earns a fee or margin on the volumes it handles. A 27% drop in cargo arrivals compresses revenue at every stage, with the impact concentrating most on the primary importer.

For the broader energy market, this data confirms a structural shift that had been forming since late FY25. Power plants and fertilizer units have been cutting RLNG consumption for months; the FY26 import figure is the clearest single number showing how far demand has retrenched from the levels Pakistan was planning its energy future around.

Which stocks, and why

PSO is the primary listed company exposed to this development. Pakistan State Oil manages the country's RLNG procurement under government instruction, procuring spot and term cargoes and supplying gas to distribution companies and power plants. The company earns a handling margin on the volumes it processes. At 27% lower volumes, PSO's RLNG-related revenue line contracts proportionately. PSO already contends with a large circular-debt receivable book and thin regulated margins across all fuel categories; the RLNG volume decline adds a specific headwind to what had been a growth segment of its business.

Fertilizer and gas-fired power producers are not mapped separately here because the cost channel for those companies, how the RLNG price hike affects feedstock costs at companies such as Engro Fertilizers, Fauji Fertilizer, and Hub Power, was already covered when OGRA announced the tariff revision. This article focuses on the demand-side response and what lower import volumes mean for PSO's procurement franchise.

What to watch

The data points to follow are monthly LNG cargo arrivals reported by PLL and ISGS, any OGRA or Economic Coordination Committee review of RLNG tariffs in the first half of FY27, and PSO's FY26 annual results, which will show how much the volume decline has squeezed RLNG-related earnings. If the government reduces RLNG prices to stimulate a demand recovery, PSO's volumes could rebound but per-unit margins may tighten further. If the import trough persists into FY27, it signals that Pakistan's industrial base has shifted away from RLNG more permanently, which changes the medium-term earnings mix for PSO.