Two Fossil Fuel Companies Are Betting Big on Data Centers
Two American oil and gas companies, Williams and Chevron, are presenting that demand to investors as a huge win.Data centers are becoming “a big driver for both power and gas demand in the US,” says Ashish Sethia, the global head of commodities and energy at BloombergNEF. The group published a report last week that found that increased demand for natural gas by the mid-2030s, driven partly by data centers, means that the US would need to increase production by 36 percent.The boom could have big climate implications—even when considering projects that aren’t connected to the larger grid. Just five of the seven data-center-connected gas-fired power plants highlighted in these two companies’ second quarter results could emit as much as 21 million tons of greenhouse gases per year, according to their permit applications.
- ▪Two American oil and gas companies, Williams and Chevron, are presenting that demand to investors as a huge win.Data centers are becoming “a big driver for both power and gas demand in the US,” says Ashish Sethia, the global head of commodi
- ▪The group published a report last week that found that increased demand for natural gas by the mid-2030s, driven partly by data centers, means that the US would need to increase production by 36 percent.The boom could have big climate impli
- ▪Just five of the seven data-center-connected gas-fired power plants highlighted in these two companies’ second quarter results could emit as much as 21 million tons of greenhouse gases per year, according to their permit applications.
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| Publication time | Thu, 06 Aug 2026 10:30:00 +0000 |
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Molly TaftScienceAug 6, 2026 6:30 AMTwo Fossil Fuel Companies Are Driving the Data Center BoomChevron and Williams are big winners in the race to power artificial intelligence as they build out gas-fired power plants and pipelines.Photo-Illustration: Wired Staff/Getty ImagesCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyIt’s been a banner year for oil and gas companies. Some of the world’s biggest oil giants have announced billions of dollars in quarterly profits over the past two weeks, boosted largely by the soaring price of oil thanks to the conflict in the Middle East.But the artificial intelligence boom is also giving fossil fuel companies a new industry to sell their gas, pipelines, and power plants to: data centers.
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