{
  "id": 6603693,
  "title": "Permian Gas Has Been Worth Less Than Nothing for 118 Days This Year",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/permian-gas-has-been-worth-less-than-nothing-for-118-days-this-year",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-10T15:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "OilPrice",
    "slug": "oilprice",
    "url": "https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Permian-Gas-Has-Been-Worth-Less-Than-Nothing-for-118-Days-This-Year.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "This year, natural gas in the Permian Basin of Texas has been worth less than nothing for 118 days straight. Chevron is addressing this issue by building a power plant near a data center campus, alongside Microsoft, to utilize the surplus gas. The plant, which will have a capacity of about 2.67 gigawatts, is set to begin operations in 2028. While this single project doesn't indicate a trend, it demonstrates how multiple energy challenges in West Texas are finding a common solution.\n\nIn recent years, the Permian Basin has experienced record gas production, with the region's output reaching an average of 29.2 billion cubic feet per day in 2025. However, the market has struggled to absorb all this gas, leading to negative pricing on 118 out of the first 131 trading days of the year. This surplus is primarily due to the rising gas-to-oil ratio in the aging oil fields. Producers are paying to have the gas taken off their hands rather than shutting down productive wells.\n\nThe problem isn't production, but rather the fact that the gas component of the energy mix is not being valued enough. Data centers are now the first buyers of this gas, with the Lone Star State's significant wind infrastructure providing the necessary transmission lines for the power. In fact, this region is a prime location for solar energy as well, as new lines are being developed to accommodate solar power generation.",
  "summary": "Outside Pecos, Texas, Chevron is getting ready to build a power plant to solve a problem the Permian Basin has been stuck with for years, which is that it produces far more natural gas than anyone nearby is willing to pay for. Chevron's subsidiary, Energy Forge One, signed a 20-year agreement with Microsoft in June to build a gas-fired plant beside a data center campus, ramping up to roughly 2.67…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}