Chevron plans to sell its campus in the San Francisco Bay area and give employees the option of moving to Houston in the latest business migration to Texas.
The second-largest US oil explorer will lease new office space in San Ramon, California, and maintain its corporate headquarters in the Golden State where it’s been located for more than 140 years, according to a statement on Friday.
Chevron already has its biggest US presence in downtown Houston, where it occupies the former Enron building and follows in the footsteps of Caterpillar, Tesla and Oracle in shifting significant numbers of employees to the Lone Star state. Earlier this year, Exxon Mobil announced plans to move its corporate headquarters from suburban Dallas to the Houston area.
The announcement is a blow to California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, who’s been contending with a string of high-profile business departures, and a boost to Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who is seeking re-election in November.
Bay Area real estate prices and the cost of living have surged amid the tech boom. The median house price in the Diablo Valley that includes San Ramon was more than $2 million during the first five months of 2022, according to Compass. Houston is a much cheaper housing market and Texas has no state income tax.
“The current real estate market provides the opportunity to right-size our office space to meet the requirements of our headquarters-based employee population,” Chevron said.
Chevron expects the move to take place during the third quarter of 2023. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported the announcement.
