Petrobras
Brazil's state-controlled oil company.
Petrobras's Replan refinery at Paulínia gives its name to the substation at the centre of Brazil's first court fight over data-centre grid access, where a judge held up new connection awards on 6 October 2026.
Last refreshed: 18 October 2026
Timeline for Petrobras
Mentioned in: Brazil judge freezes Replan grid awards
Data Centres: Boom and BacklashBackground
Founded in 1953 and headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Petrobras is Brazil's state-controlled oil company. The federal government holds 50.26% of its voting shares and must by law keep a majority.
Its Replan refinery at Paulínia, in São Paulo state, began operating in 1972 and handles about a fifth of Brazil's oil refining, according to Petrobras. A TRF-1 appeals judge acted on 6 October 2026: until ANEEL decided Pahlavan's injunction requests for three Paulínia data-centre projects, due within 48 hours, nobody could be awarded a new connection at the Replan substation.
Brazil's grid operator had judged those projects' planned 2029 step from 71 MW to 157 MW unviable under the new access rules. Its first competitive round, on 6 and 7 October 2026, shared out 228 MW across four São Paulo connection points, every megawatt of it to three data-centre projects.
What is the Replan refinery?
Why is the Replan substation at the centre of a data-centre dispute in Brazil?
Who controls Petrobras?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 18 October 2026. Editorial standards.