Oracle’s massive New Mexico data center hits a snag over a 17-mile gas pipeline

Oracle’s ambitious Project Jupiter data center in southern New Mexico just ran into a familiar enemy of big tech ambitions: local permitting. The Green Chile Project, a 17-mile natural gas pipeline extension meant to feed the facility, has been delayed by nearly six months after the New Mexico State Land Office denied its permit application for the second time. The pipeline’s new target in-service date is now February 1, 2027, pushed back from an August 15, 2026 deadline, according to an Energy Transfer LP regulatory filing dated August 14, 2026. For a project designed to deliver up to 400 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, that’s not exactly a minor scheduling hiccup. What’s actually happening in Dona Ana County Project Jupiter is Oracle’s bid to build a massive data center complex in Dona Ana County, New Mexico. The facility is designed to run on Bloom Energy fuel cells, which convert natural gas into electricity on-site, with the long-term goal of reaching multiple gigawatts of capacity. The Green Chile Project, operated by Energy Transfer LP, would provide that critical gas supply. The New Mexico State Land Office first rejected the pipeline’s permit application, and th...