Integrating Natural Gas Into Strategic Planning, And Power Cooling Resilience Decisions

 From the Permian to the Rack: How Gas Flows Directly & Indirectly Shape Data Center Growth

When speaking with both data centers and electricity providers, it is clear that the oil and gas industry plays a pivotal role in shaping the evolving supply chain that now underpins AI-scale data demand. The connection is both direct and indirect: Permian producers supplying gas into on-site engines, turbines, and fuel cells for dedicated power, and others channeling excess gas into the grid to avoid flaring—gas-to-power sales that ultimately stabilize wider capacity.

ERCOT’s Demand: Can Oil & Gas Guarantee Supply?

Electricity utilities, particularly ERCOT, are demanding certainty from oil and gas operators: can they guarantee reliable supply? That question cuts deeper than commodity markets. It rests on hub constraints, pipeline build-outs, and the way producers are managing volatility in associated gas volumes when oil drilling slows. For data centers and utilities alike, the stakes are systemic—planning horizons, grid stability, and investment confidence all hinge on these answers.

Houston, Dallas, West Texas: Who Gains, Who Waits?

At the same time, oil and gas operators want visibility on where new data center interconnects will land. Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, and West Texas each present very different timelines between demand growth and available transmission. These choices will dictate which producers can monetize gas most effectively, where midstream investment is justified, and how quickly hydrocarbons can be aligned with digital growth corridors.

The Permitting & Resilience Question

For data centers, urgency is focused on whether gas-fired plants can be permitted and built at the speed of AI demand. Can operators run fully off-grid, or will ERCOT ties and excess power sales remain unavoidable? These questions are not theoretical—they cut directly to resilience strategies, capital allocation, regulatory positioning, and long-term competitiveness.

At the conference, these issues will be addressed head-on:

• Permitting speed and build timelines: What it will take for gas-fired capacity to  match AI-scale demand in practice, and whether off-grid autonomy is  realistic.
• Interconnection and investment alignment: How the siting of new data centers reshapes      monetization opportunities for oil and gas operators and demands new  midstream strategies. Because Texas and similar high-growth states remain capacity-tight on electricity, natural gas is increasingly seen as the only credible path to schedule certainty for large-scale AI data center loads.

Gain More Clarity On Which Basins Will Dominate Supply Through 2026/207

By the time this conference convenes in December, many developers will already have shifted to natural gas prime power—moving beyond backup systems to full on-site generation as a way of working around ERCOT interconnection queues and new large-load obligations. Several high-profile projects are already advancing.

Hear Case Examples Of Projects Advancing Despite ERCOT Delays

New long-haul projects are already on the table, including Matterhorn Express, and Trident Interstate—pipelines that will move more Permian gas toward Gulf Coast load centers. This midstream dimension makes the conversation uniquely valuable: data centers, on-site power providers, grid integrators, and producers will all be part of the same room, aligning timelines and obligations for the first time.

Understand The Logistical Backbone—Pipelines And Fuel Flow—That Underpins Innovation.

For data center operators, this means clarity on how to phase on-site assets against grid connection delays, and what types of contract structures are best suited to guarantee fuel assurance, emissions compliance, and commercial stability.

Learn Which Use Cases Are Proving Commercially Viable At Scale.

For on-site power providers, it’s about learning which use cases will scale, what emissions packages regulators are willing to accept, and how to position technologies for rapid deployment.

How Gas Integrates Into The Broader AI Energy Ecosystem

And for gas producers and midstream players, the conference provides direct insight into the shape and firmness of AI-driven demand—its hourly profiles, seasonality, and tenure—enabling better underwriting of lateral storage contracts, new pipeline investments, and alignment of supply with data center development schedules.

Every segment has a stake, and every perspective is needed to build a holistic approach. Natural gas is not the only solution, but it is the critical piece that allows the wider ecosystem to function. Expect sophisticated commercial discussions on how fuel assurance can be structured, how emissions risk can be managed, and how natural gas can be integrated not just into dense data centers, but also into the wider electrical architecture they rely on.

We will stay focused on the strategic and commercial implications without losing sight of the technical realities—because this is about the decisions that will lock in capital, shape infrastructure, and define resilience for the next decade.