A proposed natural gas pipeline intended to supply a major artificial intelligence data center operated by Oracle has been rerouted after state regulators in New Mexico rejected earlier construction plans.
The company responsible for building and operating the pipeline, Energy Transfer LP, is now seeking permission to place a portion of the 17.8-mile (approximately 28.6-kilometer) pipeline on land managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
In a letter submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on August 17, Energy Transfer LP's subsidiary, Transwestern, stated that the revised plan would avoid land under the jurisdiction of the New Mexico State Land Office.
That state office has previously denied the pipeline's right-of-way application on two separate occasions.
As previously reported, this project is one of the most critical components of the broader "Stargate" initiative, and delays in the associated natural gas pipeline had previously caused Oracle shares to fall as much as 5% in a single session.
As of the latest trading, Oracle shares were down 2.2% during Tuesday's session.
The data center, known as "Project Jupiter," is located in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, near the U.S.-Mexico border, and is being built to serve OpenAI.
This facility ranks among the largest of its kind, with plans for a 2.5-gigawatt natural gas fuel cell power generation setup and a total investment of up to $165 billion. The project has already drawn protests, primarily over concerns about its potential environmental impact.
In its most recent rejection, the New Mexico State Land Office stated last month that the lease sought by Energy Transfer LP was "not in the best interests of the state."
Meanwhile, Transwestern has pushed back the expected in-service date for the pipeline, named "Green Chile," from August 15 of this year to February 1, 2027. Last week, Oracle indicated that the Jupiter project remains on schedule.
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