Oracle wants to defer rent payments if its AI data center is delayed

Oracle has sent the developer of Project Jupiter, a unit of Blue Owl, a force majeure notice related to electricity supply risks, Bloomberg revealed on September 24, 2026. Reuters corroborated that the notice had been sent with an informed source. Oracle is seeking to preserve its contractual position and defer certain rent payments if delivery of the AI campus is delayed.

Project Jupiter is a Stargate campus under construction in Doña Ana County, New Mexico. STACK Infrastructure, owned by Blue Owl, is developing the project. Oracle is its main tenant for future computing capacity intended for OpenAI, among others.

Higher rent could start later

Reuters describes a possible extension of the reduced-rent period planned during development. The transition to higher rent would be postponed, while retaining the duration originally planned for that phase of the lease. Oracle could thus defer certain expenses, while the landlord would receive the expected revenue later.

Bloomberg mentions a rent deferral of up to three years, provided the parties acknowledge a force majeure event related to energy commitments. Oracle would have to continue paying other costs and would remain liable for rent over the full planned term of the lease once the payments in question begin.

No actual agreement on this deferral or any payment already suspended has been established. Oracle describes its notice as a step intended to preserve its contractual rights. The company says this notice alone does not establish a delay or change delivery expectations.

Bloomberg reports 18 billion dollars in loans to finance construction of the campus. This amount indicates the scale of the financing. Any shift in rent payments would affect the timing of the landlord’s revenue, without making it possible to quantify a loss.

On-site electricity depends on the gas pipeline

On April 27, 2026, Oracle announced up to 2.45 GW of Bloom Energy fuel cells to generate electricity on site. This capacity is planned. The plan is intended to replace the gas turbines and diesel generators previously considered.

Bloom Energy explains that its fuel cells generate electricity through an electrochemical process without combustion. They still require a fuel supply. For Project Jupiter, natural gas must arrive by pipeline, fuel the cells, and then provide the electricity needed by the servers.

Bloomberg reports that the pipeline being developed by Transwestern, an Energy Transfer subsidiary, is now targeting an estimated in-service date of February 1, 2027, following denials of route approvals. This target was already public in August, before Oracle’s notice was revealed.

In its September 14 statement, Oracle distinguishes between the data center buildings and the energy facility. The two occupy adjacent sites and follow separate permitting processes. A setback in an energy permit therefore does not demonstrate a general halt to construction.

Reuters and Oracle differ on the timeline

A second report on September 24 states that the project is reportedly delayed by a year, according to an anonymous source cited by Reuters who is familiar with the notice and the contract. The exact scope of this delay and a new deadline have not been established.

Oracle is maintaining its timeline. The year 2028 remains the planned date cited by the press. Blue Owl says the financial commitments are unchanged, although that statement does not specify delivery dates.

Oracle also promises to cover all of Project Jupiter’s energy costs to protect residents’ electricity rates. In its September 8 statement, the company makes the future jobs and announced economic benefits conditional on approval of the air permit and the gas pipeline.

A documented agreement on rent payments would clarify the financial consequences of the notice. The status of the permits, followed by the actual milestones in delivering energy and computing infrastructure, will help establish when computing capacity will be available and when the landlord will receive revenue.