ExxonMobil is taking its show down the road, announcing plans Monday to move its Irving, TX, global headquarters to Houston.

Exxon

The integrated global major, one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, expects to complete the move, which would be around 250 miles south, by the middle of 2023.

A spokesperson told NGI that “about 250 people currently working at the Irving location will be asked to relocate.”  More information is expected when fourth quarter results are announced as planned on Tuesday (Feb. 1).

ExxonMobil has thousands of employees in the Greater Houston area and along the Texas coast with the area headquarters at a campus north of the city.

“We greatly value our long history in Irving and appreciate the strong ties we have developed in the North Texas community,” said CEO Darren Woods. “Closer collaboration and the new streamlined business model will enable the company to grow shareholder value and position ExxonMobil for success through the energy transition.”

Collaborate, Integrate

With petrochemical facilities, as well as research and development centered in the Houston area, the move would help with “collaboration and integration,” management said.

Other changes are underway as well to better streamline the business.

“Our transformed business structure enables us to more fully leverage the corporation’s scale, integration, technology advantages, and the skills and capabilities of our talented workforce, to better serve our customers,” said Woods. “Aligning our businesses along market-focused value chains and centralizing service delivery, provides the flexibility to ensure our most capable resources are applied to the highest corporate priorities and positions us to deliver greater shareholder returns.”

ExxonMobil plans to combine the Chemical and Downstream businesses, and centralize the Technology and Engineering segments. Effective April 1, three business lines would hold the assets: ExxonMobil Upstream Co., ExxonMobil Product Solutions and ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions. 

The trio of business units would be supported by a single technology organization, ExxonMobil Technology and Engineering, and other centralized service-delivery groups.

“The move is a further evolution of the company’s business model and part of its strategy to build globally competitive businesses that lead industry in earnings and cash flow growth, operating performance and the energy transition,” management said. 

More businesses are upcoming for the Gulf Coast region, too. The Golden Pass liquefied natural export project is underway on the Upper Texas coast with QatarEnergy. The company and partner Saudi Basic Industries Corp. also recently ramped up a world-class ethane cracker in South Texas.

In addition, ExxonMobil is spearheading a $100 billion proposed carbon capture and storage project to pull emissions from the industrial complex along the Houston Ship Channel. 

ExxonMobil Technology would be led by Linda DuCharme, formerly president of ExxonMobil Upstream Integrated Solutions and ExxonMobil Upstream Business Development. ExxonMobil Upstream is to be helmed by Liam Mallon, formerly president of ExxonMobil Upstream Oil and Gas Co.