Oracle has issued a force majeure notice to the developer of Project Jupiter, a data center campus in New Mexico, according to a report from Bloomberg on Thursday.
Force majeure clauses, often found in contracts related to energy and commodities, allow a party to suspend its contractual obligations when unforeseen events occur. Oracle, however, is not attempting to withdraw as the primary tenant of the campus, as reported by Bloomberg’s sources. The notice permits Oracle to postpone payments if the facility fails to meet its operational goal by 2028.
This notice arrives amid increasing scrutiny of AI data center construction across the nation, as developers face significant costs to provide capabilities for clients like OpenAI.
Oracle has stated that it does not anticipate any delays. “Project Jupiter is on schedule,” Oracle asserted in a statement. “We are fully dedicated to New Mexico and are confident in our future plans.”
Blue Owl Capital, which oversees the unit receiving the notice, affirmed that “this notice has no effect on the financial obligations linked to this extensive project.”
Neither Oracle nor Blue Owl promptly addressed requests for comments from TechCrunch.
Despite this, the notice comes after a series of delays at the location, many related to its energy supply. The campus is designed to manage 2.45 gigawatts and aims to operate using gas-powered fuel cells from Bloom Energy, making a reliable gas source crucial for its timeline.
A pipeline from Energy Transfer, intended to supply gas to the location, has faced a delay of nearly six months, now set for February 1, 2027, following repeated regulatory permit denials. Bloomberg reported in August that the pipeline’s route had been modified due to these rejections. Additionally, a separate air quality permit for the fuel cell system that would operate the campus is still under review; the state’s environmental agency has a deadline of November 23 to reach a decision.
Project Jupiter is a key site within Stargate, an AI infrastructure project jointly launched by Oracle, OpenAI, and SoftBank in collaboration with President Trump during his second term. However, the campus has faced opposition from local residents and environmental organizations, becoming a contentious political issue as midterm elections approach. In response, Oracle has initiated a public outreach campaign in the state to win over critics of the project, as reported by Bloomberg.
