Electricity consumption growth outpaces the global average by over five times—yet oil companies emerge as the biggest winners?

The explosive growth of artificial intelligence is pushing data centers’ electricity demand to an unprecedented historical high. NEWS According to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), global data center electricity consumption reached 485 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2025—accounting for approximately 1.7% of total global electricity use. At the current pace of AI computing expansion, this figure is projected to double by 2030, reaching about 945 TWh and representing nearly 3% of global electricity consumption. Under carbon neutrality commitments, tech giants such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have already launched large-scale green electricity procurement programs. However, the inherent intermittency of wind and solar power means data centers still rely on reliable, low-carbon baseload power and flexible peak-shaving capacity. Clean natural gas-fired generation—characterized by rapid start-up/shut-down capability, low carbon emissions, and 24/7 dispatchable operation—precisely complements the shortcomings of wind and solar, making it the ideal ‘energy partner’ behind AI computing power. This implies that oil and gas companies’ natural gas assets are no longer merely industrial fuel or residential gas—they are transformable into stable electricity, serving as the ‘fuel’ for computing power. More critically, contiguous power plant land, scarce grid connection access, experienced electricity trading teams, and decades-honed end-to-end management capabilities for large-scale energy projects constitute core competitive advantages that position these oil and gas majors to seamlessly transition into ‘new power plants’ for the AI era. International arena: Upgrading from traditional oil & gas suppliers to dedicated AI computing energy service providers Major international oil and gas companies—including TotalEnergies, Chevron, and Equinor—are actively entering data center power supply as a brand-new growth avenue. Leveraging their unique resource, technological, and asset advantages, they are establishing differentiated strategies and carving out stable incremental market share in the AI computing energy sector—evolving from conventional oil & gas suppliers into specialized energy service providers for computing power. In June 2026, Chevron signed a 20-year long-term power supply agreement with Microsoft to jointly develop the Kilby integrated gas-fired power plant and data center campus in West Texas, with a final installed capacity of 2.67 gigawatts (GW). The project utilizes associated gas from Chevron’s own gas fields for on-site power generation and establishes an off-grid, self-contained power system independent of the public grid—completely eliminating reliance on the utility grid. The core advantage of this model lies in bypassing U.S. grid interconnection bottlenecks, effectively shortening local data center grid-connection waiting times by five to seven years. Equinor established a new dedicated power business unit—PWR (Power & Renewables)—in 2025. The PWR division consolidates all assets and teams related to wind, solar, gas-fired generation, energy storage, and electricity trading, enabling fully integrated, centralized operations across its power business. The central objective of this restructuring is to address the volatility of renewable power output by synergistically combining renewables with gas-fired peaking units and energy storage systems—ensuring stable, uninterrupted power supply for computing-intensive applications. TotalEnergies has entered the computing-energy sector via long-term green power purchase agreements (PPAs). In 2025, TotalEnergies concluded two major long-term collaborations with Google: In November, it signed a 15-year PPA to supply 1.5 TWh of solar-generated electricity to Google’s U.S. data centers; in December, it launched a project in Malaysia, securing a 21-year PPA totaling 1 TWh to serve the Southeast Asian computing market. Compared with the high volatility of traditional oil and gas spot trading, these ultra-long-term PPAs—spanning 15 to 21 years—lock in stable cash flows.

Equinor announced its Q1 2023 adjusted after-tax profit at USD 3.5 billion

Norwegian energy major Equinor reported first-quarter adjusted earnings that exceeded analyst consensus on Thursday, as higher production partially offset declines in oil prices and a steep plunge in natural gas prices. Equinor’s adjusted pre-tax profit for Q1 stood at USD 12 billion—down 33% year-on-year compared to Q1 2022, yet above the consensus estimate of USD 11.2 billion from 26 analysts covering the company. Its adjusted after-tax profit totaled USD 3.5 billion, also surpassing the widely expected USD 3.15 billion, despite a 36% year-on-year decline. The Norwegian giant stated that revenue declined year-on-year “due to lower realized prices for liquids and natural gas, partially offset by higher production volumes.” Like other European energy majors—including BP and TotalEnergies—Equinor also reported strong contributions from marketing and trading activities. Equinor noted: “Marketing, midstream, and processing (MMP) segment earnings significantly exceeded the updated and expanded guidance range, driven primarily by crude oil, refined products, and liquids trading.” Compared to Q1 2022, the average realized price for pipeline-delivered natural gas to Europe was USD 18.8 per barrel of oil equivalent (boe), while the realized price for liquids stood at USD 73.8 per barrel—representing respective declines of 37% and 24%.

Equinor Says MMP Energy Trading Unit Profit Exceeds Guidance

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Equinor's MMP division expects Q1 adjusted operating profit to exceed $400 million guidance. Earnings release will detail impacts from tighter crude markets and geopolitical tensions similar to rivals BP and Shell.

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