Houston-based Riverway Group LLC and Offshore Data Center LLC are collaborating to design and build offshore platforms that use stranded or undervalued natural gas to power data centers on the U.S. Gulf Coast. The approach aims to make gas resources viable for development by locating computing infrastructure near the energy source.
The companies are combining Offshore Data Center’s industry partnerships and proprietary semi-submersible hull designs from HORTON DO BRASIL TECNOLOGIA OFFSHORE LTDA with Riverway’s automated welding and advanced fabrication methods. The partners say the resulting hulls can weigh up to 50% less than traditional designs while improving stability.
The lighter structures are intended to help make construction on the U.S. Gulf Coast competitive with shipyards in South Korea, China and Singapore. The companies did not disclose project locations, investment amounts, construction schedules or planned computing capacity.
Offshore Platforms Designed for Computing and Energy Production
The platforms are engineered to support heavy equipment, including data centers, ammonia or methanol production units and conventional oil and gas production facilities.
A key feature is a patented and proprietary closed-loop deep-ocean cooling system. Cooling can account for as much as 40% of a data center’s energy consumption, according to the announcement. Using cold deep-ocean water is intended to reduce cooling demand and improve power-generation efficiency.
“A significant amount of offshore gas is never developed, or is simply reinjected, because getting it to market doesn’t pencil out,” said Art J. Schroeder Jr., CEO of Offshore Data Center.
Locating data centers near gas resources could eliminate the need for pipelines to shore and transmission lines, while ocean-based cooling could lower operating energy requirements, Schroeder said.
Domestic Manufacturing and Computing Capacity
The companies expect the collaboration to support U.S. maritime manufacturing, domestic energy development and additional computing capacity. They also anticipate job creation and tax revenue from the initiative.
The proposal addresses two infrastructure challenges: monetizing offshore gas that is uneconomic to transport and securing power and cooling for energy-intensive computing facilities. By generating electricity near the gas source, the platforms could offer an alternative to transporting gas to shore or connecting data centers to land-based power infrastructure.
However, commercial viability will depend on construction costs, offshore operating requirements, environmental and regulatory approvals, and demand for the resulting computing capacity. The companies have not announced a specific deployment timeline, investment details or confirmed projects.
