Shell to exit most of its downtown Houston office space

Sept. 20, 2016
Shell will move most of its downtown Houston staff to two of its owned facilities on the west side of the city.

Offshore staff

HOUSTON –Shell will move most of its downtown Houston staff to two of its owned facilities on the west side of the city.

“In an effort to meet the ever-changingmarket conditions and optimize resources for future opportunities, Shell will move all staff in the Houston central business district, with the exception of those in Trading, to Shell-owned facilities on the west side of the city, including both Woodcreek and the Shell Technology Center.

"The changes will be taken into effect 1Q 2017,” a Shell spokesperson confirmed by statement toOffshore.

After cutting positions at its New Orleans office, Shellsaid in July it planned to cut, consolidate, or relocate more than 150 offshore jobs in the Gulf of Mexico as part of an effort to shave 2,200 positions across its global operations this year. Royal Dutch Shell is also moving forward with plans to eliminate 6,500 jobs worldwide, seeking to reduce costs amid lower oil and gas prices.

The Houston Chronicle reported that that the company established its downtown presence 45 years ago, helping to “ignite the growth of Houston’s downtown skyline.” In an August profile of the organization and its local real estate history, the Chronicle said that Shell originally opened the location with the intent to house its operations for the western United States. However, in the 1970s, “the US subsidiary of the international energy company Royal Dutch Shell supported building not one but two skyscrapers in Houston and moved its headquarters from New York into the 50-story building known today as One Shell Plaza.

The Shell spokesperson also noted in its statement that “Houston also remains critical to our core business; it’s where we have much of our expertise, including engineering and operations support, as well two technology/research centers.”

In its coverage of today’s announcement, the Houston Chronicle reported that Shell has space at One Shell Plaza and BG Group Place up for sublease.

09/20/2016