Oracle has delivered a force majeure notice to the developer of Project Jupiter, the Stargate data center campus planned in New Mexico, Bloomberg first reported on Thursday. The notice would permit Oracle to delay payments if the facility fails to come online by its 2028 target date.
What a force majeure notice means here
Force majeure clauses excuse contractual performance when events beyond a party’s control prevent fulfillment. According to Bloomberg’s sources, Oracle is not seeking to withdraw as the campus’s primary tenant; instead, the notice provides a contractual mechanism to postpone payments should project timelines slip.
Statements from the parties
Oracle told CNBC it does not expect a delay: “Project Jupiter remains on our planned schedule. We are fully committed to New Mexico and confident in our path forward.” Bloomberg reported that a unit of Blue Owl Capital received the notice; Blue Owl told CNBC that “this notice does not change the financial commitments to this multi‑year project.” Neither Oracle nor Blue Owl immediately responded to TechCrunch’s requests for comment.
Project delays tied to energy supply and permits
The notification follows a series of setbacks at the site, many connected to energy supply. The campus is designed for 2.45 gigawatts of capacity and is planned to run on gas‑powered fuel cells from Bloom Energy, making a reliable natural gas supply central to the timeline.
An Energy Transfer pipeline intended to deliver gas to the site has been delayed nearly six months and is now scheduled for February 1, 2027, after regulators repeatedly denied permits for the line. Bloomberg reported in August that the pipeline route was changed following those rejections. Separately, an air‑quality permit for the fuel‑cell system that would power the campus remains pending; the state environment department faces a November 23 deadline to decide.
Political and local opposition
Project Jupiter is a flagship site of Stargate, the AI infrastructure initiative Oracle, OpenAI, and SoftBank announced with President Donald Trump early in his second term. The campus has attracted opposition from residents and environmental groups and has become a political flashpoint ahead of the midterm elections. Bloomberg reported that Oracle has mounted a public outreach campaign in New Mexico to try to win over critics.
Why this matters
The developments illustrate broader tensions around rapid AI data center expansion, infrastructure readiness, and regulatory scrutiny. While Oracle and the developer say the force majeure notice does not alter their overall commitments, upcoming regulatory decisions and the timing of gas delivery infrastructure will be critical to meeting the 2028 operational target.
