Oracle issues force-majeure notice over its New Mexico AI data center, citing operational or environmental constraints affecting Stargate buildout.

Oracle has issued a force majeure notice to Blue Owl Capital—the investment firm's unit developing Project Jupiter—over the massive AI data centre being constructed in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, Bloomberg reported. The notice aims to delay payment obligations if the campus misses its 2028 opening target, rather than allowing Oracle to exit the arrangement entirely.

Project Jupiter is a cornerstone of the Stargate programme, which is designed to build computing infrastructure for OpenAI. The facility could cost up to $165 billion and would operate on as much as 2.45 gigawatts of Bloom Energy fuel cells powered by natural gas.

The project's timeline has been complicated by natural gas supply challenges. In March and again in July, the New Mexico State Land Office rejected rights-of-way applications for a gas pipeline. State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard cited emissions concerns and strain on local water and other resources.

Energy Transfer, the company building the 17.8-mile pipeline, has since rerouted it across federal lands and postponed its start date from August 15 to February 1. Oracle publicly stated as recently as August that the project remained on schedule—the force majeure notice now provides protection should that projection change.

The implications extend far beyond the single site. Stargate's backers, including SoftBank, are mobilizing record amounts of debt financing for OpenAI's infrastructure expansion, and any delay at Jupiter would ripple through those broader plans.