It seems every other day, there’s news of another business leaving California for Texas or another state to escape the taxes and regulations that have hurt business in the “Golden State.” But the most recent business in the news for leaving California isn’t just any business, it’s Chevron, one of the world’s largest oil companies. John Egan reports in Culture Map Houston:
The Energy Capital of the World is adding another jewel to its corporate crown.
With the impending move of Chevron’s headquarters from Northern California to Houston, the Houston area will be home to 24 Fortune 500 companies. Chevron ranks 15th on this year’s Fortune 500.
Oil and gas giant Chevron, currently based in San Ramon, California, will join three Fortune 500 competitors that already maintain headquarters in the Houston area:
- Spring-based ExxonMobil, No. 7 on the Fortune 500
- Houston-based Phillips 66, No. 26 on the Fortune 500
- Houston-based ConocoPhillips, No. 68 on the Fortune 500
Chevron, which posted revenue of $200.9 billion in 2023, employs about 7,000 people in the Houston area and about 2,000 people in San Ramon. The company says its chairman and CEO, Mike Wirth, and vice chairman, Mark Nelson, will move to Houston before the end of 2024.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Wirth acknowledged Chevron’s differences of opinion with California policymakers regarding energy matters.
“We believe California has a number of policies that raise costs, that hurt consumers, that discourage investment and ultimately we think that’s not good for the economy in California and for consumers,” Wirth said.
Chevron expects all of its corporate functions to shift to Houston over the next five years. Jobs that support the company’s California operations will remain in San Ramon, where Chevron employs about 2,000 people. Some Chevron employees in San Ramon will relocate to Houston.
The company’s move to Houston hardly comes as a surprise. Speculation about a relocation to Houston intensified after Chevron sold its 98-acre San Ramon headquarters in 2022 and moved corporate employees to leased office space. Over the past several years, Chevron has shifted various corporate functions to Houston.
“This is just the final step that many industry observers were waiting to happen,” Ken Medlock, senior director of the Baker Institute’s Center for Energy Studies at Rice University, says in a news release.
“To start, Houston provides a world-class location for internationally focused energy companies, which is why there is such a massive international presence here,” Medlock adds. “Texas is also the nation’s largest energy producer across multiple energy sources and is poised to lead in emerging opportunities such as hydrogen and carbon capture, so Houston is a great place for domestically focused activities as well.”
The announcement of Chevron’s exit from California comes just a year after ExxonMobil finalized its relocation from Irving to Spring.
Action Line: It didn’t have to be this way for California, but the state’s politicians put their political agendas ahead of their constituents’ best interests. If you’re like Chevron and you’re looking for a better America, start your search with Your Survival Guy’s 2024 Super States. Then, click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter.
