FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

Market Chatter: Brazil Extends 12% Crude Oil Export Tax for 60 Days

By

Brazil's government approved a 60-day extension of a 12% tax on crude oil exports, maintaining a measure introduced in March after oil prices surged following the outbreak of military actions in the Middle East, Reuters reported on Thursday.

The decision by Gecex, the executive committee of the foreign trade chamber Camex, will be reviewed in 30 days. Officials had recently signaled lower oil prices could justify easing or scrapping the levy, but opted to keep it in place.

Gecex said the temporary measure reflects developments in global energy markets. The government says revenue from the tax will help fund efforts to cushion consumers from the conflict-driven inflation.

Gecex did not immediately respond to a request for comment from.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

Related Articles

Commodities

Kodiak, Baker Hughes Strike Gas Turbine Deal to Power US Data Center Boom

Kodiak Gas Services (KGS) and Baker Hughes (BKR) have agreed to a multi-year deal to supply gas-turbine power-generation equipment to meet surging electricity demand from US data centers and other energy-intensive infrastructure projects, the companies said on Wednesday.The agreement creates a framework for deploying up to 1.8 gigawatts of power generation capacity, with an initial order covering about 1 GW of gas turbines and generators, scheduled for delivery by 2030.Kodiak, a provider of energy infrastructure services, said it will use Baker Hughes' power generation portfolio to expand its distributed power capabilities and support customers seeking reliable electricity supplies.The initial equipment award includes Baker Hughes' NovaLT16 and Frame 5 gas turbines, along with BRUSH Power Generation generators, which will provide the core technology for planned projects.The agreement is structured as a multi-year rolling arrangement, allowing capacity commitments to be adjusted based on data center demand, project timelines and infrastructure requirements.Kodiak Gas and Baker Hughes also plan to collaborate on technical training, spare parts availability and potential long-term service agreements for the equipment.Baker Hughes said its gas turbine and generator technologies would help customers bring new generating capacity online more quickly to meet accelerating demand from digital infrastructure.The deal comes as soaring electricity demand from artificial intelligence and data centers is driving investment in gas-fired generation, particularly in regions where grid constraints are delaying new power connections.

$BKR$KGS
Commodities

US Natural Gas Update: Futures Ease Ahead of Storage Data

US natural gas futures extended losses in after-hours trade on Wednesday after touching a one-week high early in the session, as traders positioned ahead of a government storage report expected to show a larger-than-normal inventory build that would reinforce expectations of ample domestic supplies.The front-month Henry Hub contract and the continuous contract both fell 1.44% to $3.218 per million British thermal units.Market participants expect the US Energy Information Administration on Thursday to report a bearish storage build for the week ended July 3. The five-year average injection for the period is 51 billion cubic feet, while inventories rose 53 Bcf during the same week a year earlier.Analysts' forecasts point to another above-average build. Barchart expects inventories to increase by 61 Bcf, while Gelber & Associates estimates a 50-Bcf increase. NRG forecasts a 57-Bcf injection this week, followed by a 43-Bcf build next week.US prices had climbed earlier in the session, supported by gains in European gas markets, where benchmark prices rose by more than 5% after the US military attacked Iranian targets and US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran had ended, raising renewed concerns about energy shipments through the Persian Gulf.Back in the US, lower-48 dry gas production averaged 111.6 Bcf/d on Wednesday, up 1.4 Bcf/d from the previous day and 4.2% higher than a year earlier, according to BNEF data cited by Barchart.BNEF said demand across the lower 48 states averaged 76.2 Bcf/d, up 0.9 Bcf/d from Tuesday but down 4.9% from a year earlier. Celsius Energy estimated power-sector gas consumption, or power burn, at 42.3 Bcf/d on July 6, unchanged from the same day last year. For the week ended July 6, power burn averaged 40.8 Bcf/d, down 2.6% from the corresponding period in 2025.Estimated net gas flows to US LNG export terminals rose to 18.4 Bcf/d, up 0.3 Bcf/d from the previous day, although they remained 3.7% below the prior week's level.Europe, the largest buyer of US LNG, is replenishing inventories ahead of winter, but storage remains only about 50% full, well below the seasonal average of roughly 65%, according to the Swiss Federal Office of Energy. Renewed Middle East violence raised concerns that Asian buyers would compete more aggressively for any available spot US LNG cargoes.

Commodities

Meta Breaks Ground on its 1st Canadian Data Center

Meta (META) is breaking ground on its first Canadian data center, a 1-gigawatt AI-optimized facility in Sturgeon County, Alberta, in a project that will involve an investment of more than 13 billion Canadian dollars (US$9.18 billion), the company said in a statement on Wednesday.The facility will be Meta's 33rd data center globally and is designed to support the company's artificial intelligence workloads as it expands AI capabilities across its products and services.Meta said the project will employ about 3,000 construction workers at peak activity and create more than 300 permanent operational jobs once the facility is completed.The company also said it will invest about 60 million Canadian dollars in local infrastructure improvements and provide grants and funding to nonprofit organizations in the surrounding community.Meta said it has worked with utility and grid partners, including Greenlight Limited Partnership, AltaLink, Capital Power, and the Alberta Electric System Operator, to develop the infrastructure needed for the project.The company said it will fully fund new electricity generation and grid infrastructure to support the data center and that the facility's electricity consumption will be matched with 100% clean and renewable energy.Meta added that the site will use a closed-loop, liquid-cooled system with dry cooling, requiring no operational water for cooling and limiting water use to domestic needs, fire protection, and equipment maintenance. It reiterated its goal of becoming water positive by 2030.

$META