Oracle weighs trucked natural gas for Project Jupiter as pipeline slips

Oracle is putting natural gas on trucks to keep some of its AI data centers running. The reason is simple: the pipelines that are supposed to deliver that gas are not ready yet. The company now appears to be considering the same approach for Project Jupiter, its massive AI campus in New Mexico. That project’s dedicated gas pipeline has been delayed by state permitting problems. Trucking gas works. It is also estimated to cost about four times as much as pipeline gas. Gas on wheels Oracle is already relying on trucked compressed natural gas at AI data center sites in Salt Lake City and in Shackelford County, Texas. Suppliers including Certarus and VoltaGrid are providing the fuel. Oracle treats the arrangement as temporary. The trucks fill the gap until permanent pipeline infrastructure is built. The economics are the catch. Trucked gas is estimated to run approximately four times the cost of gas delivered by pipeline. Keeping a power-hungry facility online also requires frequent, large shipments, which adds a logistics headache on top of the price premium. Project Jupiter’s pipeline problem Project Jupiter sits on a 1,400-acre campus in New Mexico. It is designed to host up to appr...