Marathon Petroleum’s 2025 AI Strategy: Powering Data Centers with Natural Gas

Marathon’s Pivot to Powering AI: From Internal Efficiency to External Monetization in 2025

Marathon Petroleum has fundamentally shifted its artificial intelligence strategy, evolving from an internal user of AI for operational efficiency to a crucial external enabler of the AI ecosystem by monetizing its energy assets.

• Between 2021 and 2024, Marathon’s AI adoption was pragmatic and operationally focused, targeting risk mitigation and efficiency gains. The company deployed third-party AI tools like Flyscan’s aerial leak detection and Imubit’s reinforcement learning for refinery optimization, demonstrating a focus on improving its core business.
• In 2025, the strategy bifurcated with a significant new external focus, highlighted by the November 2025 collaboration between its subsidiary MPLX and MARA Holdings. This project moves beyond internal optimization to create a new revenue stream by building integrated power generation and data center campuses in West Texas.
• This dual-pronged approach positions Marathon to simultaneously drive down costs in its core operations through AI-driven predictive maintenance while capturing new growth by supplying low-cost natural gas directly to the power-intensive AI industry.
• The move mirrors a broader industry trend, with competitors like ConocoPhillips also targeting their gas supply to meet the energy demand from AI, signaling a strategic convergence among energy majors to become foundational pillars of the digital economy.

Analyzing Marathon Petroleum’s Strategic Capital for AI and Technology Ventures

Marathon Petroleum’s financial commitments in 2025 underscore its dual strategy of reinforcing core operations while funding its entry into the AI energy supply market. The company has allocated substantial capital through both MPC and its midstream arm MPLX to support high-return projects and the infrastructure required for new ventures like powering data centers. This spending is complemented by smaller, targeted investments in next-generation technologies, creating a balanced portfolio of near-term returns and long-term growth options.

Table: Marathon Petroleum Strategic Investments (2025)

Marathon Petroleum’s 2025 Partnership Ecosystem for AI and Energy Infrastructure

In 2025, Marathon Petroleum executed a series of targeted partnerships to solidify its dual strategy. The collaboration with MARA Holdings marks a strategic entry into the AI infrastructure market, while partnerships with technology providers like Square Robot and infrastructure players like ONEOK reinforce the efficiency and capability of its core business. These agreements demonstrate a clear intent to leverage external expertise and joint ventures to accelerate growth in new markets and optimize existing assets.

Table: Marathon Petroleum Technology and Infrastructure Partnerships (2025)

Marathon Petroleum Shifts Geographic Focus to West Texas for AI Energy Ventures

Marathon Petroleum’s strategic center of gravity for new growth initiatives has decisively shifted to the energy-rich regions of Texas, capitalizing on existing assets to serve the burgeoning AI industry.

• From 2021 to 2024, Marathon’s activities were geographically diverse, centered on its operational footprint. Key projects included the renewable fuels joint venture with Neste in California and participation in the Appalachian hydrogen hub initiative across Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
• The year 2025 marks a concentrated push into West Texas as the primary geography for growth. The MPLX–MARA Holdings collaboration will develop data center campuses near MPLX’s natural gas processing plants in the Delaware Basin, directly linking regional energy supply with digital demand.
• While West Texas becomes the hub for this new AI-focused venture, the Gulf Coast remains a critical area for foundational infrastructure. The 2025 joint venture with ONEOK to build an export terminal and pipeline in Texas reinforces Marathon’s logistical strength in the region.

Technology Maturity: Marathon Petroleum Moves from AI User to AI Enabler

Marathon Petroleum is progressing from adopting mature AI applications for internal processes to pioneering a commercial model that positions its energy infrastructure as a core technology for the AI revolution.

• During the 2021-2024 period, the company focused on deploying proven, commercially available AI and robotics. This included using Flyscan’s AI for pipeline monitoring and Imubit’s AI for refinery optimization, which validated the technology’s ability to deliver tangible efficiency gains in existing operations.
• In 2025, the focus expanded to a novel commercial application: the integrated energy and data center campus with MARA Holdings. This moves beyond using off-the-shelf AI to creating a new asset class where energy supply is directly hardwired to AI compute demand, representing a commercial-scale validation of this business model.
• Simultaneously, Marathon is investing in its future technology pipeline. The company’s active hiring for in-house generative AI specialists and its R&D investment in Comstock Fuels’ biomass-to-fuel demonstration facility signal a strategic effort to build next-generation capabilities.

Marathon Petroleum’s Strategic Evolution: SWOT Analysis 2021-2025

Table: SWOT Analysis of Marathon Petroleum’s AI and Technology Strategy

Future Outlook: Executing the AI Energy Play is Marathon’s Top Priority

The most critical factor for Marathon Petroleum’s strategy in the year ahead is the successful execution of its plan to power AI infrastructure, with the MPLX-MARA venture serving as the flagship test case.

• Progress on the construction and commissioning of the integrated power generation and data center campuses in West Texas will be the primary milestone to watch. Successful execution will validate the company’s entire external AI strategy.
• Monitor for new partnerships or announcements that replicate the MARA model. The success of this initial project could unlock further opportunities for Marathon to leverage its vast energy infrastructure to power other data center operators.
• While the external strategy takes center stage, the market anticipates quantifiable results from internal AI initiatives. Per industry leader discussions, 2026 is expected to be the year enterprise AI delivers measurable business outcomes, so watch for disclosures on cost savings from predictive maintenance.
• The integration of newly hired generative AI talent will be a key indicator of Marathon’s ability to build proprietary technology. Look for initial use cases in engineering, troubleshooting, or corporate functions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main change in Marathon Petroleum’s AI strategy in 2025?
In 2025, Marathon’s AI strategy shifted from being solely an internal user of AI for operational efficiency (2021-2024) to also becoming an external enabler of the AI industry. The new focus is on monetizing its natural gas assets to power AI data centers, creating a significant new revenue stream.

How exactly is Marathon planning to power AI data centers?
Through its subsidiary MPLX, Marathon is collaborating with MARA Holdings to build integrated power generation and AI data center campuses in West Texas. This project will use low-cost natural gas from MPLX’s nearby processing plants to directly generate electricity for the power-intensive AI compute facilities.

Is Marathon abandoning its use of AI for internal operations?
No, the company is pursuing a dual-pronged strategy. While entering the AI energy supply market, it continues to invest in AI to improve its core operations. Examples include its 2025 partnership with Square Robot for robotic tank inspections and its ongoing focus on AI-driven predictive maintenance to lower costs.

What key partnerships define Marathon’s 2025 strategy?
The most significant partnership is the November 2025 collaboration between its subsidiary MPLX and MARA Holdings to build data center campuses. Other key 2025 partnerships include a joint venture with ONEOK to build export infrastructure and a collaboration with Square Robot to enhance operational efficiency with submersible robots.

How is Marathon financing its entry into the AI energy market?
Marathon has allocated substantial capital in 2025 to fund this strategy. Its midstream arm, MPLX, has budgeted approximately $2 billion in growth capital for infrastructure projects, which includes supporting the MARA Holdings data center collaboration. Additionally, the parent company has a $1.25 billion corporate capital plan for high-return projects.