Chevron moving California headquarters to Texas
SAN RAMON, Calif. - Chevron Corporation on Friday announced it is relocating the company’s headquarters from San Ramon, California, to Houston, Texas – the latest in a string of companies to leave the Golden State.
In a news release, the company announced that Chevron chairman and CEO, Mike Wirth, and vice chairman, Mark Nelson, will move to Houston before the end of 2024 to "co-locate with other senior leaders and enable better collaboration and engagement with executives, employees, and business partners."
Chevron said it already had roughly 7,000 employees in the Houston area and around 2,000 at its current headquarters in San Ramon, Calif., near San Francisco.
The company said it expects all corporate functions to migrate to Houston over the next five years. Positions in support of the company’s California operations will remain in San Ramon.
The company operates crude oil fields, technical facilities, and two refineries and supplies more than 1,800 retail stations in California.
Chevron did not officially state a reason for the move.
But it comes after the state of California sued Chevron and other large oil companies last year, claiming that they misled the public about the risks of fossil fuels, the extraction of use of which are a leading cause of climate change.
In March, Chevron agreed to pay more than $13 million in fines for dozens of past oil spills in California.
In addition, Richmond voters in November are voting whether to tax the Chevron refinery in that city.
Chevron countered that proposal, saying the company has had a strong relationship with Richmond, noting they've been in that city for 100 years.
Supporters of the proposal said big companies and polluters like Chevron aren't paying their fair share, and causing millions in health care bills for Richmond residents.
State Assembly Republican leader James Gallagher, among California's most vocal critics of Democrats, issued a statement Friday shortly after the announcement.
"This is an entirely predictable consequence of Gavin Newsom’s constant demonization of the companies California depends on for energy, jobs and tax revenue," his statement read. "As Californians continue to struggle with the highest gas prices and unemployment of any state in the nation, they know they are paying the price for Newsom’s political stunts. No wonder his approval ratings are at a record low."
Chevron's defection from California follows other large companies moving away, as well.
This month, Elon Musk announced he's moving X headquarters from San Francisco to Austin, Texas. Musk moved his other company, Telsa, from Palo Alto to Austin in 2021.
In 2020, Oracle chairman Larry Ellison said he was moving his company from Redwood City to Austin, Texas, but then last year, decided to move again to Nashville, Tennessee.