Data center power demand is starting to reshape natural gas planning in a more physical way. At CERAWeek, ONEOK’s Walter Hulse said developers can no longer assume that sitting next to an existing pipe is enough, because a 5-gigawatt generation facility may require far more gas than a fully contracted pipeline can deliver. He said what once looked like a $50 million lateral can now turn into a $500 million to $700 million pipeline project.
The story becomes clearer when viewed geographically. Large data center demand is not rising in isolation; it is clustering in specific corridors where future power supply may require larger and longer gas infrastructure builds than developers once assumed.
The investor side is shifting too. Lazard’s George Bilicic described a powerful long-term value corridor across the U.S. gas system, while Hulse said shareholders have become more willing to support larger capital spending when it is tied to AI and data center demand.
Why it matters
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Large data center projects are pushing gas demand to a scale that existing nearby pipes may not be able to serve directly.
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The new bottleneck is not just power demand itself, but the physical buildout needed to supply it.
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Midstream opportunities are getting larger as shorter laterals give way to bigger transmission-style projects.
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Investors are showing more tolerance for energy infrastructure spending when it is tied to AI and data center growth.
What the map shows
A two-part view of major data center demand clusters in Texas and the Eastern U.S., shown against the existing transmission gas grid.
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Under-development data centers
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Operational transmission natural gas pipelines
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Texas shown as a major growth market
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The Eastern U.S. shown as a dense existing demand corridor
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A side-by-side view of where existing and near-term demand is clustering near the current gas network
A deeper dive with DataLink
Using Rextag Energy DataLink, users can:
- separate operational and under-development data center clusters
- place those clusters against operational transmission gas infrastructure
- screen where existing and near-term demand is concentrating near the current gas grid
- export internal-ready views for data center, gas market, and infrastructure planning analysis
Want to see how Rextag’s Energy DataLink works for your team? Click Free Trial to get started, and one of our specialists will walk you through key datasets and workflows.
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Data center power demand is starting to reshape natural gas planning in ...
