> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.sotkn.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Oracle trucks in gas at 4x pipeline cost to keep data center power on time - URL: https://www.sotkn.com/wire/oracle-trucked-gas-data-center-power-4x-cost-wire/ - Published: 2026-10-10T23:48:37.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-10T23:48:37.000Z - Description: Oracle is trucking compressed gas to AI data centers, including an OpenAI campus in Texas, and weighing it for 2.45 GW Project Jupiter as a rerouted pipeline slips into 2027. Trucked gas costs about four times pipeline gas. - Author: Sean - Tags: #desk-wire `WIRE` · `HYPERSCALERS` · `US` · Data as at 10 Oct 2026 Oracle is paying truckers to bring gas to its AI data centers because the pipelines are late. Bloomberg reported on **8 October 2026** that Oracle has used trucked compressed gas to keep a Salt Lake City-area site moving for more than a year, is using it at a campus it is building for OpenAI in Shackelford County, Texas, and is weighing it for **Project Jupiter** in New Mexico, a site planned for **2.45 GW**. Trucked gas costs about **four times** pipeline gas. On the [hyperscalers layer](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/hyperscalers/), the stuck step here is not chips. It is gas reaching the power plant beside the hall. Oracle shares fell **5.5%** to **$135.69** that day. ## What happened Where trucks run now **A Salt Lake City-area data center (more than a year, gas from Certarus) and an OpenAI campus in Shackelford County, Texas (gas from VoltaGrid)** Bloomberg, 8 October, citing people familiar with the work Where trucks may run next **Project Jupiter, New Mexico: 2.45 GW planned, built for OpenAI. Its Energy Transfer pipeline was rerouted after state regulators rejected the first route, pushing service from this summer into 2027** A September report put the new date at February 2027 The price of waiting **Delivered trucked gas costs roughly 4x gas bought through a major pipeline hub** East Daley Analytics estimate, as reported by Bloomberg The scale problem **At 100 MW, about 4% of Jupiter, one large trailer lasts about 40 minutes** SemiAnalysis estimate, as reported by Bloomberg Oracle did not comment to Bloomberg. It did post a thank-you to VoltaGrid for "cost-effective power solutions" that keep its cloud capacity on schedule. ## Why cash cares Oracle's cloud revenue only starts when a hall has power. Its backlog of signed contracts, which it calls remaining performance obligations, stood at **$664 billion** at the end of August. That money turns into revenue hall by hall, as each one is switched on. A late pipeline delays it. Meanwhile the spending runs ahead. Oracle spent **$28.5 billion** on capital projects in the quarter to August, against **$8.5 billion** a year earlier, and free cash flow was **minus $5.4 billion**. About half of the quarter's **$23.1 billion** of operating cash came from **$11.4 billion** of customer prepayments. In plain terms, customers are already paying in advance for capacity that still needs gas. Here is our own arithmetic, not a reported figure. If one trailer lasts about 40 minutes at 100 MW, that is about **36 trailers a day**. A straight-line scale-up to the full 2.45 GW would be close to **900 a day**. That is why trucks can only bridge the early phases, not run the campus. ![Gas-to-hall clock: Oracle pays for trucked gas while the pipeline is rerouted](https://storage.ghost.io/c/cd/10/cd10e222-131f-4ba4-b4a9-ca4214e8c12d/content/images/2026/10/gas-to-hall-clock-print.png) **Figure: Gas-to-hall clock.** Trucks bridge the gap at about four times the pipeline price, and only at small scale. Second Order arithmetic on the figures reported above. ## The step that is still open The pipeline. Energy Transfer had to redraw the route after New Mexico regulators turned the first one down. Jupiter also still needs an air-quality permit for its Bloom Energy fuel cells, which run on gas. In September Oracle sent a force majeure notice to the developer, a unit of Blue Owl, which could protect Oracle from some payments if the site misses its planned 2028 start. Oracle says Jupiter is on schedule. We covered that notice in [Oracle's New Mexico force majeure Wire](https://www.sotkn.com/wire/oracle-project-jupiter-force-majeure-power-wire/). ## The second-order read **Who gets paid.** The "virtual pipeline" firms that compress gas and haul it: Certarus, owned by Superior Plus, and VoltaGrid. They earn a premium price for as long as the pipes are late. Energy Transfer gets paid later, once its line is in service. **Who pays.** Oracle, which buys gas at about four times the hub price while its free cash flow is negative. Shareholders took a 5.5% fall in one day. **Who waits.** OpenAI, which needs the capacity. The developer, which could see payments slip under the force majeure notice. Bloom Energy's fuel cells sit idle without steady gas. **Stuck step.** Gas to the hall. GPUs can be bought and shipped faster than a rerouted pipeline can be built. ## Two cautions The trucking story comes from unnamed people familiar with the work, as reported by Bloomberg. Oracle has not given figures for how much gas it trucks or what it pays. The 4x cost, the 40-minute trailer and our 36-a-day and 900-a-day figures are rough analyst and straight-line estimates, not company numbers. ## What to watch - **New Mexico's air permit decision for Jupiter's fuel cells**, due by 23 November 2026 according to a September report. - **Energy Transfer's pipeline in-service date**: any slip past early 2027 means more trucks or a later start. - **Oracle's next quarterly results, usually in mid-December**: capital spending, free cash flow, and whether it says anything about power costs. *Read: [AI Data Centers](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/ai-data-centers/), [Hyperscalers](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/hyperscalers/), and [What Does Oracle's Price Assume About the Power Stuck Step?](https://www.sotkn.com/analysis/oracle-power-stuck-step-what-price-assumes/)* --- **Get the Wire.** A free brief every day, here and in your inbox. **[Subscribe free →](https://www.sotkn.com/#/portal/signup)** Not investment advice. Do your own research. The 36-a-day, 900-a-day and "about half" figures are our arithmetic. ## References 1. [Bloomberg via SupplyChainBrain, "Oracle Moves Gas by Trucks to Avoid Data Center Power Delays"](https://www.supplychainbrain.com/articles/44999-oracle-moves-gas-by-trucks-to-avoid-data-center-power-delays?ref=sotkn.com), 9 Oct 2026\. Trucked gas at the Utah, Texas and New Mexico sites, Certarus and VoltaGrid, 4x cost, 40-minute trailer at 100 MW, pipeline reroute, share move. 2. [Quartz, "Oracle is trucking natural gas to AI data centers as pipeline delays threaten key projects"](https://qz.com/oracle-trucking-natural-gas-ai-data-centers-100926?ref=sotkn.com), 9 Oct 2026\. Shares down 5.5% to $135.69 on Thursday, 2.45 GW target. 3. [TipRanks, "Why Oracle Stock (ORCL) Is Sinking Today"](https://www.tipranks.com/news/why-oracle-stock-orcl-is-sinking-today-october-8-2026?ref=sotkn.com), 8 Oct 2026\. Date of the report and share fall, pipeline start moved into 2027, Bloom fuel cells. 4. [SiliconANGLE, "Oracle issues force majeure notice to New Mexico data center developer on energy delays"](https://siliconangle.com/2026/09/24/oracle-issues-force-majeure-notice-to-developer-of-new-mexico-data-center-over-energy-delays/?ref=sotkn.com), 24 Sep 2026\. Force majeure notice, 2028 start, pipeline delayed to February, air permit deadline 23 November. 5. [Oracle, Q1 fiscal 2027 results](https://investor.oracle.com/investor-news/news-details/2026/Oracle-Announces-Q1-Results-Driven-by-Triple-Digit-Growth-in-Cloud-Infrastructure-Revenues/default.aspx?ref=sotkn.com), 10 Sep 2026\. Capex $28.5 billion vs $8.5 billion, free cash flow minus $5.4 billion, operating cash $23.1 billion incl. $11.4 billion customer prepayments, RPO $664 billion.