ExxonMobil and Chevron are positioning themselves as key energy providers for AI data centers, tapping into the growing energy demands of the tech sector.
ExxonMobil announced plans to develop a natural gas plant dedicated to powering such data centers, coupled with carbon capture and storage technology to cut emissions by up to 90%.
“We’re working with other large cap industrials to rapidly deploy a solution that would provide both high reliability and low carbon intensity power to meet the growing demand for computing power for artificial intelligence,” Exxon Chief Financial Officer Kathryn Mikells said.
ExxonMobil plans to build a natural gas plant specifically for powering AI data centers, designed to operate independently from the electric grid for faster deployment compared to traditional power systems, according to CFO Kathryn Mikells.
While details about a customer or timeline remain undisclosed, the project aligns with Exxon’s extensive carbon capture investments along the Gulf Coast, which include over 900 miles of CO2 pipelines for transporting emissions to permanent storage.
The company estimates that decarbonizing AI data centers could contribute up to 20% of its total carbon capture and storage market by 2050, emphasizing its strategy to meet rising energy demands while reducing emissions.
Also, Chevron is exploring solutions to power data centers, according to Jeff Gustavson, president of the company’s New Energies division.
Speaking at the Reuters NEXT conference on Wednesday, Gustavson highlighted Chevron’s interest in supporting the energy-intensive needs of data centers, reflecting the growing focus of oil majors on integrating advanced energy solutions into the tech sector.
“This is something that our company is very well positioned to participate in,” Gustavson said.
Chevron is a major national gas producer with power generation equipment and very large tracts of land that could be used for data centers, the executive said.
Tech giants like Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta have traditionally relied on wind and solar power to supply their data centers, aiming to reduce their environmental impact.
However, the rising energy demands of artificial intelligence are driving these companies to seek more reliable electricity sources, as renewable energy alone may struggle to meet the consistent power requirements of AI operations.
Tech companies are increasingly turning to nuclear power to meet their growing energy needs.
Microsoft is supporting the revival of the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor by purchasing its power, while Amazon and Google’s parent company, Alphabet, are investing in next-generation small modular reactors.
Meta has also expressed interest, inviting proposals for the construction of new nuclear plants to support its operations.
The fossil fuel industry and energy analysts have argued that the tech sector will inevitably turn to natural gas due to the lengthy timelines required to construct nuclear plants.
Exxon CEO, Darren Woods criticized nuclear power on Wednesday, arguing that it is not a practical solution for meeting the immediate and near-term energy demands of AI.
“If you’re betting on nuclear and something coming down the road, there’s a long road ahead of us,” Woods told Wall Street analysts on Wednesday.
The small nuclear reactors that tech companies are investing are not expected to reach commercialization until the 2030s.
