ExxonMobil announces headquarters relocation from Irving to Houston area

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- International oil and gas company ExxonMobil is headed to the greater Houston area.

The energy giant announced on Monday that it is relocating its headquarters from Irving, Texas to its campus north of Houston in the Spring area.

The move is scheduled to be completed by mid-year 2023, ExxonMobil said in a statement.

According to a press release from the company, the relocation will enable closer teamwork to accelerate and increase value delivery.

"We greatly value our long history in Irving and appreciate the strong ties we have developed in the North Texas community," said Darren Woods, chairman and chief executive officer. "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."

The relocation is part of a bigger business structure streamlining announcement.

"They moved from New York to Dallas a few decades ago, and that was a clear tip to say, you know, the center of energy activities is in the state of Texas," said Chief Energy Officer Ramanan Krishnamoorti at the University of Houston.

Krishnamoorti adds that Exxon Mobil's latest move relocating their corporate offices from Irving to the existing office in Spring is big news for Texas.

"Exxon shifts from Dallas, which is clearly closer to the production side, rather than the production and utilization and pipeline, says Krishnamoorti.

The oil giant said in a news release, they're streamlining their business structure to enhance effectiveness, grow value, and reduce costs to better support their customers.

ExxonMobil told ABC13 in an email, that 250 people currently work at the Irving location, including the CEO and management committee.

Right now, there are more than 10,000 employees working at the company's 385-acre campus in Spring, which opened in 2014.

Krishnamoorti says this is a clear indication of how the company is evolving, "We will continue to export a lot globally, but in order for Exxon and hydrocarbons to progress, we've got to address the carbon emissions issue."

They just formed a group of 14 companies putting in $100 billion in the ship channel to address carbon emissions. The company said this restructuring could save the company $6 billion in structural costs with plans to relocate the office by the middle of 2023.

ExxonMobil said it is transforming its business structure to be organized along three lines effective April 1 including; ExxonMobil Upstream Company, ExxonMobil Product Solutions and ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions.

"They will be supported by a single technology organization, ExxonMobil Technology and Engineering, and other centralized service-delivery groups providing like capabilities, building on the successful consolidation of major projects across the corporation in 2019," the company said in a release.

In response to the announcement, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner stated, the move will bring a strong workforce and wealth of resources.

"I welcome (Monday's) news that ExxonMobil will relocate its corporate headquarters to the Houston area. As the 10th largest company in the U.S., according to the Fortune 500, Exxon will bring a strong workforce and a wealth of resources. In this city, we partner with our energy sector to move forward positively in a way that can benefit Houstonians and create a global impact on climate, resilience and sustainability. Exxon's decision further supports Houston as the center of the energy transition. The city is currently working on two major projects with the company, including the large-scale deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. We look forward to opportunities to collaborate in the future to benefit the Houston area," said Turner.