Two Shell Plaza At 777 Walker St.

[TGM]

I was on the OKCTalk forum and there are a couple of post claiming that Shell could be moving their NA headquarters from Houston to Oklahoma City. Is this really a possibility or is it just rumors and wishful thinking on their part ?

They pointed out that Shell sold their headquarter building last year as if that was proof but Shell never owned the building they are just tenants and in fact I believe they renewed their lease for another 15 years not to long ago.

Wishful thinking on OKC's behalf. Look at the properties that Shell has here vs. elsewhere. One Shell, Two Shell, the information center on OST, Westhollow Technology center, Deer Park refinery, etc. If anything they could choose to consolidate similar to what ExxonMobil is doing in the Woodlands.

There will always be a consistent rumor that Shell is leaving New Orleans (One Shell square), or relocating everything to The Hague, and I guess now, pulling out of Houston.

[Houston19514]

There is a lot of wishful (delusional) thinking on that board about companies moving to OKC and building new skyscrapers in downtown OKC.  There have been similarly fact-challenged "rumors" in that same thread about ConocoPhillips moving its HQ to OKC and Phillips 66 moving its HQ to OKC and BHP Billiton movings its North American HQ to OKC and the latest was Linn Energy (which very recently expanded its HQ lease in downtown Houston). Cemex was another one.  The thread is fed by a hyper-cheerleading business reporter for the local paper.

[Fortune]

Ohhhhh ok well that explains a lot, thanks. I guess because Devon built their headquarter tower there they think every company wants to relocate there. It seemed like a few of the posters had a vendetta against Houston.

[KinkaidAlum]

Yes, and then KLM will start nonstop flights to OKC from Amsterdam!

 

Not. Going. To. Happen.

 

 

[swtsig]

wow that's a lot of very wishful thinking on their part. practically every major o&g firm in houston is in the midst of significant expansion of their facilities... that doesn't exactly scream "relocation." perhaps a regional office for particualr gas plays would work there but full scale HQ relocations are not happening, the infrastructure and talent base in Houston dwarfs anything okc could dream of matching within the next 50 years (or ever, ie the port).

[ChannelTwoNews]

With regard to Shell specifically, swtsig's point is spot on.

 

The Woodcreek Campus is a good example, as the three buildings completed there in recent years and the two twelve story buildings going up now are actually going to be owned by the company. That's a first for them, and as it was stated previously, it doesn't exactly sound alarm bells for the company moving.

 

Then again, OKC Talk is the site that speculated about Phillips66 relocating it's Houston operations to OKC in the not too distant future !!!111oneoneeleventyone!...

 

...while failing to note that the company had just cemented it's commitments in the Houston area by opting to build a campus in Westchase.

 

Boosterism is pretty deadly sometimes.

[swtsig]

to further squash the notion that o&g firms are looking to move out of Houston, it was publicized late last week that two of Hess' largest sharelholders (both large PE groups) have hammered the companys board for substandard performance and openly questioned why the company's HQ are in Manhattan and not Houston.

The activist investment firm Relational Investors, which owns 3.4 percent of the company’s shares, has echoed Elliott’s calls for directors with industry experience.

Elliott succeeded with a similar strategy last year, when it launched a proxy fight against Houston-based BMC Software and eventually gained two seats on the board.

This time, though, it may go a step further. If it succeeds in its proxy fight, it may press the company to move to Houston.

“Why is the company headquartered in Manhattan? It doesn’t make sense,” Koffey contends, because the industry’s expertise is concentrated in Houston.

Elliott argues that energy expertise is needed to unlock the full value of Hess’ assets. Investors have been unhappy with the company’s stock performance and corporate governance for years.

[H-Town Man]

Why confine yourself to Houston when Oklahoma City gives you the world?

[Houston19514]

Oh my.  This can't be good for the OKCTalk community's fantasies of ConocoPhillips moving its headquarters to downtown OKC:

 

From Nancy Sarnoff's March 10, 2013 article:

 

Phillips 66, the former downstream operations of ConocoPhillips, plans to move after it builds a new facility. At that time, the company [ConocoPhillips] will begin renovating the older space.

Steve Moskowitz, who manages the facility for ConocoPhillips, said quality architecture and amenities are key to attracting the best employees.

"You have to offer a great work environment," he said.

Read more: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/The-futuristic-side-of-Houston-4340742.php#ixzz2NFbMgmJq

[samagon]

Why confine yourself to Houston when Oklahoma City gives you the world?

 

In defense of OKC, it is very near one of the largest (the largest?) pipeline hubs in the USA in Cushing OK.

 

Other than that? I struggle to find other factors that would endear OKC in the hearts of oil companies.

[ToryGattis]

In defense of OKC, it is very near one of the largest (the largest?) pipeline hubs in the USA in Cushing OK.

 

Other than that? I struggle to find other factors that would endear OKC in the hearts of oil companies.

 

Everybody knows I'm the world's biggest fan of Houston, but I also recognize that there is a "sweet spot" in metro sizes from 1 to 3 million that is very popular - cities like Austin, San Antonio, Nashville, Charlotte, Portland, Orlando, Raleigh-Durham, Denver, Vegas, and, of course, OKC (I'd even throw Ft. Worth in there even if it is part of the DFW metroplex).  Those cities are big enough to have most of the amenities people want, but small enough to not have the problems really big cities have, like traffic congestion.  In most of those cities, you can live relatively close to the core in a nice affordable house in a good school district.  These places also can have a more stable workforce that isn't leaping from company to company because there simply aren't as many job hopping options in town.  I still think most energy companies are better off being part of the Houston cluster, but I do understand the appeal.

[samagon]

Everybody knows I'm the world's biggest fan of Houston, but I also recognize that there is a "sweet spot" in metro sizes from 1 to 3 million that is very popular - cities like Austin, San Antonio, Nashville, Charlotte, Portland, Orlando, Raleigh-Durham, Denver, Vegas, and, of course, OKC (I'd even throw Ft. Worth in there even if it is part of the DFW metroplex).  Those cities are big enough to have most of the amenities people want, but small enough to not have the problems really big cities have, like traffic congestion.  In most of those cities, you can live relatively close to the core in a nice affordable house in a good school district.  These places also can have a more stable workforce that isn't leaping from company to company because there simply aren't as many job hopping options in town.  I still think most energy companies are better off being part of the Houston cluster, but I do understand the appeal.

 

I thought about mentioning that, plus taxes (not sure how OK vs TX is though).

 

I'm sure it's cheaper in OKC to hire the non-petrochemical-engineer, or non-geologist, but it's convincing the engineer and geologist to move to OKC (which commute times, amenities, and things like what you mentioned would play into) and looking at expenses involved with sending people to Houston for various technology conferences (OTC, etc) multiple times a year.

 

But then you get into all the companies that offer support, technologies and hardware to these companies that have offices in Houston, or do their manufacturing in/around Houston (NOV, Maverick, Honeywell, etc). It's a lot easier to just drive 30 minutes to a live meeting than to fly, or have a conference call/webex. 

 

Now that UH has the energy research park, I imagine it's like a farm system for oil companies to cultivate the student body there to slip into their systems (or could be).

[ToryGattis]

I'm sure it's cheaper in OKC to hire the non-petrochemical-engineer, or non-geologist, but it's convincing the engineer and geologist to move to OKC (which commute times, amenities, and things like what you mentioned would play into) and looking at expenses involved with sending people to Houston for various technology conferences (OTC, etc) multiple times a year.

 

On the flip side, I imagine they have the inside track on OU and OSU's graduates every year.  They probably can offer a little less because the graduates would prefer to stay local.