OpenAI has abandoned plans to rent compute capacity directly from a Norwegian data center, days after confirming it paused a similar project in the U.K.

Microsoft is taking the extra compute previously earmarked for OpenAI at a planned 230MW “Stargate Norway” facility in Narvik. OpenAI is now in discussions to rent capacity from Microsoft instead, a spokesperson for the company told CNBC.

The AI company said in 2025 it had the opportunity to be an “initial offtaker” at the data center, which OpenAI positioned under the umbrella of its “Stargate” infrastructure project and was being built by UK AI cloud startup Nscale.

OpenAI was in discussions to rent around half of the facility’s capacity, a source with firsthand knowledge of the matter told CNBC.

The source said that Nscale and OpenAI ultimately did not agree on an offtake deal, with Microsoft stepping in to take up the capacity. Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that OpenAI didn’t conclude its offtake talks at the data center with Nscale.

An OpenAI spokesperson declined to comment on the amount of capacity it discussed renting as part of a potential offtake deal. The company told CNBC that it was in discussions to rent capacity from Microsoft, adding that this made more financial sense for the company, falling under existing contracted spending.

“We are moving ahead with our plans in Norway,” an OpenAI spokesperson told CNBC. “Microsoft is an important partner in our network and we will work with them to access compute in Norway just as we already do in other parts of the world.”

They referred CNBC to its October announcement that it had contracted to purchase $250 billion of services from Azure, Microsoft’s cloud-computing division.

Nscale announced on Tuesday that Microsoft was expanding its agreement at the Narvik campus, adding more than 30,000 Nvidia Rubin GPUs in deployment. In March, Nscale said it would support Microsoft with its deployment of Nvidia’s Vera Rubin platform across sites in the UK, Norway and beyond.

“Expanding our work with Nscale in Narvik helps ensure Microsoft customers have access to the advanced AI infrastructure they need as demand continues to grow across Europe,” Jon Tinter, president of business development and ventures at Microsoft, said in Tuesday’s statement.

OpenAI has moved to temper expectations of its spending plans as a potential IPO looms this year.

The company confirmed it had halted plans for its U.K. Stargate project last week, citing the cost of energy and the country’s regulatory environment. In March, OpenAI announced it was shuttering its video generation service Sora.

Funding has continued to pour in for the startup. March also saw OpenAI announce it had closed a record $122 billion funding round, at a post-money valuation of $852 billion.

After 2025 saw it announce a flurry of AI infrastructure investments, OpenAI told investors in February that it was targeting roughly $600 billion in total compute spend by 2030, following comments from CEO Sam Altman in November that the company would hit $1.4 trillion in infrastructure commitments over the next eight years.

U.S. President Donald Trump has renewed his criticism of Britain’s energy policy, deriding the ruling center-left Labour government’s decision to ban licenses for new oil and gas fields in the North Sea.

“Europe is desperate for Energy, and yet the United Kingdom refuses to open North Sea Oil, one of the greatest fields in the World. Tragic!!!” Trump said Tuesday in a Truth Social post.

“Aberdeen should be booming. Norway sells its North Sea Oil to the U.K. at double the price. They are making a fortune,” Trump said.

“U.K., which is better situated on the North Sea for purposes of energy than Norway, should, DRILL, BABY, DRILL!!! It is absolutely crazy that they don’t… AND, NO MORE WINDMILLS!” he added.

His comments come amid ongoing uncertainty over crude supply from the oil-rich Middle East as the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed.

Oil and gas prices have surged since the U.S.-Israel war with Iran began in late February, delivering what the International Energy Agency has described as the “most severe oil supply shock in history.”

The energy shock is expected to hit the U.K. the hardest of all the world’s advanced economies, according to the International Monetary Fund. In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF cut its estimate for U.K. growth to just 0.8% this year, down from a projection of 1.3% before the hostilities began.

Trump’s criticism of Britain’s energy policy follows a series of personal attacks against U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer in recent weeks.

The U.S. president has previously called the North Sea a “treasure chest” for oil and gas and told the U.K. government last year to “drill, baby, drill” to cut energy bills.

A spokesperson for the U.K.’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said the government has been taking action to tackle the cost of living, including taking £117 ($158.74) off average energy bills this month, and supporting de-escalation in the Middle East.

“The lesson of yet another fossil fuel crisis is the UK needs to get off the fossil fuel rollercoaster and onto clean homegrown power we control,” they told CNBC via email.

U.K. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has previously said the Iran war reinforced the need for Britain to accelerate its shift toward clean power so that the country “can escape the grip of fossil fuel markets we don’t control.”

Meanwhile, Unite, the U.K.’s leading union, which represents thousands of North Sea oil and gas workers, has called on the government to urgently increase North Sea production. It made the plea after the industry body Offshore Energies UK warned the U.K. needed to improve its national energy security by increasing its domestic supply of natural gas.

Energy experts have questioned, however, whether new North Sea oil and gas licenses can help to shore up domestic energy security.

“The North Sea is a mature oil and gas basin in long-term decline, and that is a geological reality that no political slogan can change,” said Laura Anderson, senior associate at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU).

Her comments came in response to proposals put forward by Reform earlier this month to maximize North Sea oil and gas production.

“Even with new licences, overall production will continue to fall, meaning any strategy built on doubling down on oil and gas risks chasing a shrinking resource rather than planning for the future,” Anderson said.

A prolonged surge in natural gas prices triggered by the ongoing war in the Middle East risks denting European growth and hitting some Asian economies hard, analysts have warned.

Global gas prices have soared this week amid fears of a lengthy disruption to energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz — a key shipping route running between Oman and Iran that handles about one-fifth of global LNG trade — as the Iran conflict escalates.

Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) futures, Europe’s benchmark gas contract, rose 35% on Tuesday to more than 60 euros ($69.64) per megawatt-hour. On the week, prices are around 76% higher.

The Northeast Asia LNG benchmark, the Japan-Korea-Marker (JKM), which captures deliveries to Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan, reached a one-year high, and was last seen around 43 euros per megawatt-hour. U.K. natural gas was also sharply higher.

Qatar, one of the world’s largest LNG producers, halted production on Monday following Iranian drone strikes at Ras Laffan Industrial City and Mesaieed Industrial City. Goldman Sachs estimated the pause will reduce near-term global LNG supply by about 19%.

A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard official later said the country had closed the Strait of Hormuz to all ships, and warned that any vessel attempting to pass through the channel would be attacked. The U.S., however, said the route remained open, according to a Fox News report.

Europe and much of Asia are more heavily exposed to potential gas price shocks than the U.S., which benefits from both domestic shale and LNG production.

Around 25% of Europe’s total gas supply is LNG, according to Chris Wheaton, oil and gas analyst at Stifel. With roughly 20% of global LNG production sitting behind the Strait, a prolonged disruption could trigger a supply squeeze comparable to the 2022 shock following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he said in a note.

“We are much more concerned about European gas prices than we are about oil prices,” Wheaton said.

Shares of Norwegian energy giant Equinor, one of Europe’s largest natural gas suppliers, hit a 52-week high on Tuesday, adding more than 2%, after closing the previous session up more than 8%.