在Gustavson发表上述言论之前，埃克森美孚也于周三宣布了类似的消息——该公司表示正在努力通过将碳捕集技术与天然气发电厂相结合，在本十年末(2030年前)为数据中心提供低碳电力。On Wednesday, executives from the two major energy giants in the USA—Chevron and Exxon Mobil—stated that they are considering entering the Electrical Utilities industry and discussing the use of Henry Hub Natural Gas and carbon capture technology to provide power for AI Datacenters in the Technology sector. Previously, American oil companies typically produced electricity only for their own Business. However, amid the current surge in demand, they are attempting to enter a broader Electricity market.
On December 12th, the Financial Alliance reported (edited by Xiao Xiang) that the executives of two major US Energy giants—Chevron and Exxon Mobil—stated on Wednesday that they are considering entering the Electrical Utilities Industry and are discussing using Henry Hub Natural Gas and carbon capture technology to provide power for Technology Industry AI Datacenters.
Jeff Gustavson, President of Chevron New Energy, revealed in an interview at an Industry conference that Chevron has been in negotiations for over a year regarding providing Henry Hub Natural Gas power generation and carbon capture technology to Datacenters.
Before Gustavson made the above remarks, Exxon Mobil also announced similar news on Wednesday—the company stated that it is working to provide low-carbon electricity for Datacenters by combining carbon capture technology with natural gas power plants by the end of this decade (before 2030).
Gustavson stated that the company is studying this issue, and Chevron's experience in supplying Henry Hub Natural Gas and operating gas-fired power plants enables it to effectively meet the booming power demands of Datacenters.
This aligns with many of our capabilities—Henry Hub Natural Gas, construction, operation, and providing low-carbon power to customers through CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage), geothermal, and other technologies,” said Gustavson.
Business expansion
The American Oil Company previously only produced power for its own operations. However, during the current surge in demand, they are attempting to enter a broader electricity market.
With the rise of the AI wave, many American Technology giants are currently investing funds into AI infrastructure. According to compiled media data, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta Platforms are expected to invest over 200 billion USD next year, most of which will be used for building Datacenters.
The latest December Short-Term Energy Outlook report released this week by the USA Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows that in 2024 and 2025, American Electric Power consumption is expected to set new historical records. The EIA expects total electricity consumption in the USA to increase to 4,086 billion kilowatt-hours this year and further increase to 4,165 billion kilowatt-hours next year. Consumption in both 2024 and 2025 will exceed the previous record of 4,067 billion kilowatt-hours in 2022.
The urgent demand for electrical power has prompted the USA Electrical Utilities Industry to invest in new Henry Hub Natural Gas infrastructure and pushed fossil fuel power plants to delay retirement.
At the same time, this urgent demand has even led some large Technology companies to retract commitments focused on combating climate change. These companies had previously requested their energy-intensive AI Datacenters to use only renewable Energy sources such as Wind Energy and CECEP Solar Energy.
