Chevron Corp. bought a plot of land the size of almost 60 football fields just outside of Houston in preparation for what could become a new research-and-development campus.
The 77-acre plot is part of the Bridgeland residential and commercial development being built by Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. in Cypress, about 33 miles from downtown Houston, the companies said in a statement Sept. 5. Chevron said its existing locations — including its headquarters in San Ramon, Calif., and its office complex in central Houston, its biggest globally — “will continue business as usual.”
Chevron has dramatically expanded operations in Texas in recent years, chiefly due to oil production growth in the Permian Basin, which now makes up a quarter of the company’s global output. Last year, Chevron announced plans to downsize its headquarters in the San Francisco Bay area and gave employees the option of moving to Houston, where it has about 7,000 employees and contractors in locations including a downtown skyscraper formerly occupied by Enron Corp.
“The potential research-and-development facility would provide office and laboratory research space to enable new capabilities and provide flexibility for future activities,” Chevron said in a statement.
— With assistance from John Gittelsohn.