RIO DE JANEIRO: Courts in four Brazilian states have suspended a 50% hike in natural gas prices planned by state-run oil company Petrobras, likely kicking off an intense legal battle between the firm, the distributors that buy its fuel and various political authorities.

In a note on Tuesday night, the company, formally Petroleo Brasileiro SA, said courts in four states had issued injunctions at the request of natural gas distributors, while a fifth injunction request had been denied.

The company did not identify the states where the injunctions were granted, but Rio de Janeiro’s state legislature said on Twitter that a judge there had halted the price hike. National newspaper O Globo identified the other three states as Sergipe, Ceara and Alagoas, all in the country’s northeast.