What happened
Oilfield service firms Baker Hughes, Halliburton, and SLB introduced gas-fuelled power units for data centres, leveraging their power generation and cooling expertise. These off-grid solutions activate faster than traditional utility plants, addressing the escalating power demands of AI data centres. Baker Hughes reported increased net income from these contracts. This pivot provides tech companies with quicker, more reliable power, while also enabling the oil and gas sector to enhance internal AI-driven seismic processing, reservoir simulation, and predictive maintenance capabilities.
Why it matters
The deployment of off-grid, gas-fuelled power solutions by oilfield service firms introduces a new operational dependency for data centre operators, particularly those supporting AI workloads. This shift increases the oversight burden for procurement and infrastructure teams to manage diverse energy supply chains and potentially temporary power arrangements. It also raises due diligence requirements for IT operations and compliance regarding the environmental and regulatory implications of non-utility power sources, creating a policy mismatch with existing energy procurement frameworks.
