Chevron's Boeing Business Jet lands in Carlsbad the week of the Microsoft data-center deal

Chevron's Boeing Business Jet (N884GL) was tracked flying from Midland, Texas, to Carlsbad, New Mexico, on June 25, covering the short 31-minute hop. The aircraft left Midland's air and space port at 13:52 UTC and touched down at Cavern City Air Terminal 32 minutes later.

If Chevron's senior leadership was aboard, the timing would align with the company's recent business moves in the Permian Basin. Just days earlier, Chevron signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Microsoft Corp. to develop a co-located natural gas plant and data center near Pecos, Texas — roughly 80 miles from Carlsbad — as reported by Bloomberg. The project, called Project Kilby, is expected to deliver up to 2.67 gigawatts of capacity and first power by 2028. Should executives have been on the flight, they may have been visiting the project site or meeting with local stakeholders ahead of Chevron's final investment decision, expected by year-end.

The aircraft's recent movements show a pattern of Permian Basin activity: on June 17, it flew from Houston to Midland, then on to Carlsbad, and it also shuttled between Midland and Houston multiple times this month. This flight to Carlsbad, a gateway to the Delaware Basin, suggests continued focus on Chevron's gas-to-AI strategy, using Permian gas to power data centers off the grid.