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New Mexico Rejects Pipeline Permit for Oracle Data Center

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New Mexico regulators have denied a request to construct a natural gas pipeline across state lands that would supply a massive proposed Oracle's (ORCL) data center, making it the second time the state blocked the project.

In a letter dated July 14, New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard rejected a reconsideration request from Energy Transfer (ET), which sought to build a 0.6-mile segment of a 17-mile pipeline through state-owned property.

The Commissioner's decision reinforces an initial denial issued in March 2026 regarding rights-of-way and a business lease for the Green Chile Project.

Commissioner Garcia Richard cited significant environmental and resource concerns as the basis for the decision, emphasizing that the project was not in the best interests of the state.

"Massive AI data centers like Project Jupiter can rapidly deplete critical natural resources like water and threaten ecosystems by generating shocking levels of emissions to power their operations," Commissioner Garcia Richard stated in the letter.

"I am once again rejecting Energy Transfer's request because the proposed natural gas pipeline appears to offer very little benefit to the State Land Office's beneficiary institutions, the local community, or New Mexico as a whole."

The rejection poses a significant obstacle for Oracle's Project Jupiter, a planned campus in Dona Ana County.

Neither Energy Transfer nor Oracle immediately respnded to' request for comment.

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