How Chevron became the AI darling of Big Oil

Welcome to rural Reeves County, which counts about 4,000 households over 2,600 square miles, in barren and arid West Texas. Soon, courtesy of Chevron, the county will possess enough gas-fired electricity to power more than 2 million homes—though in this case, all of that power will be dedicated instead to Microsoft data centers.

The massive Microsoft deal, dubbed Project Kilby, positions Chevron as the booming AI leader of Big Oil. Chevron considers Kilby—slated to come online in 2028 and ramp up through 2031—as the first of potentially several massive AI hyperscaler deals that will span West Texas and other gas-laden regions, including the Rockies and the Midwest, Jeff Gustavson, Chevron New Energies president, told Fortune. The project, fittingly, is an homage to Texas Instruments’ Jack Kilby, the inventor of the integrated circuit, or microchip, and the handheld calculator—early precursors of AI.

“After making the announcement about Kilby [in June], everyone wants to talk to us,” Gustavson said. “They now see us as a higher credibility player in this space that can actually put together everything you need on these projects, including, importantly, a customer.”

When he says “everyone,” he means not just the hyperscalers, but also the gas turbine manufacturers—critically important amid long queues for equipment—and all the other necessary third-party suppliers and contractors. Chevron brings the scale, project management, land, natural gas resources, and more.

The 20-year power deal with Microsoft is for 2.67 gigawatts of natural gas-fired power—and room to grow with solar and batteries as well. The deal includes Chevron’s land and gas, additional land and water services from Texas Pacific Land, financial backing from investment firm Engine No. 1, at least seven large GE Vernova turbines, and several smaller Caterpillar Solar Titan 350 turbines. It doesn’t hurt that Chevron has a market cap of about $370 billion and just posted its most profitable quarter ever.

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