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Oracle files force majeure notice on its Stargate data center in New Mexico

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Oracle files force majeure notice on its Stargate data center in New Mexico

Oracle has sent a force majeure notice to the developer of Project Jupiter, a Stargate data center campus in New Mexico, Bloomberg first reported on Thursday. Force majeure clauses, common in energy and commodities contracts, excuse a party from its obligations when events outside its control intervene. According to Bloomberg's sources, Oracle is not trying to exit as the campus's main tenant; instead, the notice would let the company delay payments should the facility miss its 2028 target to come online. The notice went to a unit of Blue Owl Capital, which received it. Oracle said in a statement to CNBC that 'Project Jupiter remains on our planned schedule' and that it is 'fully committed to New Mexico and confident in our path forward.' Blue Owl Capital said in its own statement that 'this notice does not change the financial commitments to this multi-year project.' Neither company responded to TechCrunch's requests for comment. The notice follows a string of setbacks at the site, most tied to its energy supply. The campus is designed to handle 2.45 gigawatts and is meant to run on gas-powered fuel cells from Bloom Energy, which makes a reliable gas supply central to the project's timeline. An Energy Transfer pipeline meant to deliver gas to the site has been delayed nearly six months, to February 1, 2027, after regulators repeatedly denied permits for the line; Bloomberg reported in August that the pipeline's route had since been changed following those rejections. A separate air-quality permit for the fuel cell system is also pending, with the state's environment department facing a November 23 deadline to decide. Project Jupiter is one of the flagship sites of Stargate, the AI infrastructure initiative Oracle, OpenAI and SoftBank announced with President Donald Trump early in his second term. The campus has drawn opposition from residents and environmental groups and has become a political flashpoint ahead of the midterm elections; Oracle has responded with a public outreach campaign in the state aimed at winning over the project's critics, according to Bloomberg.

Key facts

  • Oracle sent a force majeure notice to the developer of Project Jupiter, a Stargate data center campus in New Mexico, allowing it to delay payments if the site misses its 2028 online target.
  • Oracle and Blue Owl Capital, whose unit received the notice, both say the financial commitments to the project remain unchanged and no delay is expected.
  • The 2.45-gigawatt campus depends on gas-powered fuel cells from Bloom Energy; a delayed Energy Transfer pipeline is now targeted for February 1, 2027, after permit denials forced a route change.
  • A separate air-quality permit for the fuel cell system is pending, with the state environment department facing a November 23 deadline.
  • Project Jupiter is a flagship Stargate site, the initiative Oracle, OpenAI and SoftBank announced with President Trump, and has become a political flashpoint amid local opposition ahead of the midterms.

Why it matters

Stargate is the marquee US AI infrastructure buildout, announced by Oracle, OpenAI and SoftBank with President Trump. A force majeure notice on one of its flagship sites, even framed as a payment-delay mechanism rather than an exit, signals that the energy supply chain underpinning gigawatt-scale AI data centers is under real strain, with permitting and pipeline delays now showing up in contractual terms.

Who it affects

Oracle as the campus's main tenant, Blue Owl Capital's unit as the notice's recipient and developer, Bloom Energy as the fuel-cell supplier, Energy Transfer as the pipeline builder, and OpenAI and SoftBank as Stargate's other named partners. New Mexico residents and environmental groups near the site are also directly affected, as the project has become a local political flashpoint.

How to use it

Not applicable: this is a corporate and infrastructure development, not a product or service.

How solid is it

The account rests on Bloomberg's original reporting plus on-the-record statements Oracle and Blue Owl Capital gave to CNBC, both of which TechCrunch's piece quotes directly. Oracle and Blue Owl did not respond to TechCrunch's own requests for comment, so their fuller position beyond the CNBC statements is not independently confirmed here.

Risks and caveats

Oracle and Blue Owl Capital both maintain the project remains on schedule and that financial commitments are unchanged, but the notice exists precisely to give Oracle room to delay payments if the 2028 target slips. The gas pipeline delivering fuel to the site has already slipped nearly six months to February 1, 2027, after repeated permit denials and a forced route change, and a separate air-quality permit for the fuel cell system is still pending a November 23 state decision, with no indication in the reporting of what happens if that deadline is missed.

“Project Jupiter remains on our planned schedule. We are fully committed to New Mexico and confident in our path forward.”

— Oracle, in a statement to CNBC