Court Suspends Brazil's 12% Crude Export Tax, Petrobras Adds BRL 17.1 Billion in Market Value

A federal court in Brazil's Federal District suspended collection of the 12% crude oil export tax, a levy against which Petrobras had already booked USD 1.087 billion in expense, sending the company's preferred shares up 3.02% to BRL 42.70 on August 27, 2026.

The injunction came from judge Diego Camara of the 17th Federal Court of the Federal District, in a suit brought by the Brazilian Association of Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Companies (ABEP). The tax had been set to run through September 9.

Of the USD 1.087 billion charge disclosed in Petrobras first-half financial statements, USD 965 million was booked in the second quarter alone. That single line is the measure of what the ruling removes if it holds.

The judge held that reissuing the provisional measure is barred because Congress tacitly rejected it this year. Renewing it through an infralegal normative act is unfounded, he wrote, "under penalty of circumventing due legislative process".

Timing cut against the government. The same day the injunction landed, the Chamber of Foreign Trade approved a fresh 60-day extension of the tribute. The Solicitor General's Office may still appeal. The 12% rate was established in March and subsequently maintained by the government.

Ordinary shares PETR3 gained 3% to BRL 47.31. Petrobras added BRL 17.1 billion in market value in a single session, returning near the BRL 585 billion mark. PETR4 was the most traded stock on the B3, with roughly 55.8 thousand trades and BRL 1.816 billion in financial turnover.

Crude prices reinforced the move. The most liquid Brent contracts for August settled 1.82% higher at USD 88.52 per barrel on the Intercontinental Exchange in London. Brent rose amid geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran, with the international benchmark approaching USD 90 per barrel during the session.

The crude backdrop is far stronger than a year earlier. Petrobras used an average Brent price of USD 104.52 per barrel in the second quarter of 2026, against USD 67.82 in the same period of 2025. Second-quarter operating cash flow reached BRL 61.8 billion, net income BRL 52.4 billion, and adjusted EBITDA BRL 93.8 billion.

Balance sheet metrics leave room to absorb either outcome on appeal. At end-June 2026, gross debt stood at USD 70.8 billion and net debt at USD 60.4 billion, with net debt to adjusted EBITDA at 1.14 times and adjusted cash of USD 10.4 billion.

Petrobras is also retiring paper early. The company announced the early redemption of notes issued by Petrobras Global Finance carrying 5.999% annual interest and originally maturing in January 2028, covering principal of USD 1.080945 billion. The redemption date is set for September 25, 2026, with pricing on September 22.

Separately, Petrobras and Braskem raised the commercial credit limit the petrochemical producer uses to buy feedstock from BRL 350 million to BRL 2.35 billion, an arrangement running to the end of 2026.

Other Brazilian producers tracked the move unevenly. PetroReconcavo rose 2.80% to BRL 10.66 and Prio gained 0.54% to BRL 61.09 in the same B3 session. Brava Energia fell 1.24% to BRL 17.50, still reflecting uncertainty over the company under Ecopetrol's management.

Around 4 p.m., PETR4 was up 2.70% at BRL 42.57 and PETR3 up 2.81% at BRL 47.22, carrying market value back toward BRL 585 billion. Petrobras gained close to BRL 20 billion in market value over the session, which was marked by the recovery in international crude quotations.