By Jordan Blum
Publication Date: 2026-04-01 18:51:00
Big Oil is joining the data center game, with Chevron and Microsoft entering an exclusivity agreement on talks to colocate gas-fired power plants with an AI campus in West Texas’s oil and gas epicenter. If finalized, the deal would represent the largest collaboration to date between a U.S. oil and gas giant and Big Tech.
Chevron is developing a power plant hub with 2.5 gigawatts of gas-fired power in West Texas—enough to power nearly 2 million homes—and has negotiated for months with potential hyperscaler clients. The multibillion-dollar project is scalable to 5 gigawatts and could start coming online as early as late 2027. Chevron already has a financial partnership with the Engine No. 1 investment firm and seven gas turbines ordered from GE Vernova.
“No commercial terms have been finalized, and there is no definitive agreement at this time,” Chevron, Microsoft, and Engine No. 1 said in a statement.
“The approach reflects an emerging shift in how power for AI…