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Oracle Says It Can’t Finish Its New Mexico Data Center Because of the War in Ukraine

Oracle sends force majeure notice on New Mexico Stargate data center over pipeline delays, as project faces permit hurdles.

By mitch·3 min read
A large data center complex under construction in the desert, with gas pipelines stretching toward it.

Blue Owl Capital’s unit has received a notice from Oracle stating that the company cannot fulfill its contractual obligations under Project Jupiter. The message, addressed to the developer, indicates that Oracle wishes to postpone payments should the New Mexico data center campus fail to hit its 2028 target for going live.

Bloomberg’s sources say Oracle remains the main tenant and has no plans to leave the project. The notice is not an announcement of withdrawal. Rather, it invokes a force majeure clause, which would permit Oracle to postpone payments if the building fails to meet its deadline.

What the notice means

Clauses that relieve a party from its duties when things beyond its control come up are found often in agreements involving energy and goods. These provisions are standard in contracts for energy and commodities.

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Oracle says it does not expect a delay. “Project Jupiter remains on our planned schedule,” Oracle said in a statement to CNBC. “We are fully committed to New Mexico and confident in our path forward.”

The firm’s own statement to CNBC backed that optimism. Blue Owl Capital said as much in its own words, “This notice does not change the financial commitments to this multi-year project,”.

TechCrunch’s reporting

TechCrunch reached out to both Oracle and Blue Owl for comment, and neither company has replied yet.

The pipeline problem

Bloom Energy’s gas-powered fuel cells run the campus, which has a capacity of 2.45 gigawatts. A steady gas supply is essential for keeping the schedule on track.

The Energy Transfer pipeline meant to supply gas to the location has been put off by almost half a year, now set for February 1, 2027. Permission requests kept getting turned down by regulators.

August report

In August, Bloomberg reported that the pipeline’s route had been changed following those rejections. A separate air-quality permit for the fuel cell system is also pending. The state’s environment department faces a November 23 deadline to decide.

Problem Status
Pipeline delivery date Delayed to February 1, 2027
Air-quality permit Pending, state decision due November 23
Gas supply reliability Central to timeline

Why the notice matters now

Stargate is the AI infrastructure initiative that Oracle, OpenAI, and SoftBank announced with President Donald Trump early in his second term, and Project Jupiter serves as one of its signature sites.

Residents and environmental groups have opposed the campus, which has turned into a political flashpoint ahead of the midterm elections.

Bloomberg reports that Oracle has launched a public outreach push in the state designed to win over the project’s critics.

The stakes beyond New Mexico

Nationally, scrutiny is growing around AI data center construction, with developers bearing steep costs to build capacity for customers such as OpenAI.

A delay at Project Jupiter could ripple through the broader initiative.

What happens next

The November 23 deadline for the air-quality permit will test whether the project can move forward. If the state denies it, the timeline could stretch further.

Blue Owl and Oracle are still standing strong for the moment. The notice serves as a caution rather than an exit.

Source material: “Oracle sends force majeure notice on its New Mexico Stargate data center,” TechCrunch.

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