The new wave of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects and the rush to power AI data centers are usually discussed as separate stories. At Baker Hughes, they arrive in the same order book. The company's second-quarter 2026 results, published on July 26, show record orders in its Industrial and Energy Technology (IET) segment of $7.1 billion, double the level of a year earlier, driven by strong demand across Power Systems and LNG, with what the company called "particularly strong momentum in power generation."
The combination says something about the US energy build-out. The same factories that make compressors for liquefaction trains also make the gas turbines that developers are installing to run data centers off the grid.
The LNG side of the book
Baker Hughes listed several large LNG awards in the quarter. It received a major award from Venture Global to provide six LNG blocks, for a total of 12 liquefaction modules, each block based on two single mixed-refrigerant modules with centrifugal compressor trains. Venture Global took the final investment decision on Phase 2 of its CP2 LNG project in Louisiana on March 13.
It also secured awards from Cheniere and Bechtel for liquefaction equipment for Sabine Pass Train 7, along with a boil-off gas re-liquefaction unit and gas turbine upgrades, expected to support about 6 million tons a year of additional capacity. Cheniere Energy Partners had signed an engineering, procurement and construction contract with Bechtel for the first phase of its Sabine Pass expansion on May 28. A further award from Golar covers four gas turbine-driven refrigerant compressor trains for a 3.5 million-ton-a-year floating LNG facility.
These orders are a direct result of the FID wave that followed the Strait of Hormuz disruption. Since March 2026, three large US projects have reached final investment decision, and the International Energy Agency (IEA) expects cumulative LNG supply losses of around 140 billion cubic meters between 2026 and 2030 because of the Gulf disruption and damage at Qatar's Ras Laffan.
The data center side
On the power side, Baker Hughes reported two large orders tied to data centers. On July 8, it announced a multi-year agreement with Kodiak Gas Services under which it will supply about 1 GW of gas turbines and generators, delivered by 2030, with a framework for up to 1.8 GW over time. The equipment, including NovaLT16 and Frame 5 turbines and BRUSH generators, will support "scalable, behind-the-meter power solutions" for data centers and energy infrastructure.
On July 29, it announced an order from Dynamis Power Solutions for 76 NovaLT16 gas turbines with gearboxes and generators, totaling about 1.3 GW, for mobile power generation across data center projects and oil and gas applications. The turbines were booked in the second quarter. "The market is demanding utility-grade power solutions that deliver lower emissions without the complexity and expense of water," the chief executive of Dynamis said, adding that customers require "power today."
Together, the Kodiak and Dynamis deals represent about 2.3 GW of gas-fired generation intended largely for sites that will not wait for a grid connection.
Why the overlap matters
Both markets depend on the same scarce inputs. Gas turbines, compressors, generators and the engineers who package them are being booked years in advance. Baker Hughes said its IET backlog rose 19% to a new all-time high, with IET remaining performance obligations of $37.1 billion, including $15.0 billion in gas technology equipment. It said it had decided "to further expand capacity" and raised its full-year IET order guidance, as well as its medium-term IET orders outlook to more than $45 billion.
A turbine slot taken by a data center developer is one not available to an LNG project, and the reverse. So far, the manufacturer's answer is to build more capacity. But lead times are long, and both sets of customers are trying to deliver projects before the end of the decade: the CP2 Phase 2, Commonwealth and Delfin projects are due to start up in 2030 and 2031, and Kodiak's initial 1 GW is to be delivered by 2030.
The two booms also compete for gas. Behind-the-meter data center power burns gas from the same basins that feed LNG terminals. At the average heat rate of US gas-fired plants in 2024, 7,754 Btu per kWh according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), 2.3 GW of turbines running around the clock would burn roughly 0.4 billion cubic feet of gas a day. Small turbines used in mobile packages are typically less efficient than large combined-cycle plants, so the real figure would likely be higher. For now, US supply is keeping pace: Henry Hub spot prices averaged $2.89 per million British thermal units in July 2026, according to EIA data compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
The Middle East effect
Baker Hughes' chairman and chief executive said the company had navigated "ongoing Middle East challenges" during the quarter and expected to "manage through the Middle East uncertainty" for the rest of the year. The conflict both disrupted parts of its business in the region and accelerated demand elsewhere, particularly for LNG equipment.
That is the paradox of the Hormuz crisis for US industry. It raised the value of American gas and LNG to the rest of the world, and it pushed buyers and developers to commit capital faster. Some of that capital is going to liquefaction trains on the Gulf Coast. Some of it is going to turbines that will run AI data centers in Texas, Ohio or Pennsylvania. Both are now being built with equipment from the same suppliers, on overlapping timelines, by many of the same engineering contractors.
What to watch
Three signals will show whether the overlap becomes a constraint. The first is turbine and compressor lead times, which manufacturers disclose in their results. The second is whether more LNG developers take FID in the second half of 2026, adding to equipment demand at a time when order books are already full. The third is whether behind-the-meter data center projects shift toward other technologies, such as reciprocating engines, fuel cells or batteries, to avoid queues for turbines.