U.S. oil company Chevron Corp said on Friday it was replacing several long-standing managers in a reshuffle of senior jobs and that it was moving its headquarters to Houston from San Ramon, California.
The changes come as the company works to cut costs and renew leadership after a series of setbacks, including operational challenges in Australia and Kazakhstan and an unexpected arbitration dispute that has delayed its plan to acquire Hess Corp.
The management changes signal a generational change. Nigel Hearne, executive vice president of Oil, Products & Gas, will retire after 35 years with the company and be replaced from Oct. 1 by Mark Nelson, Chevron’s vice chairman.
Rhonda Morris, vice president and chief human resources officer, will retire after 31 years with the company and will be succeeded by Michelle Green, vice president, Human Resources, Oil, Products & Gas, effective January 1, 2025.
Colin Parfitt, vice president, Midstream, will retire after 29 years with the company and be replaced on Oct. 1 by Andy Walz, currently president, America’s Products.
Earlier this year, CFO Pierre Breber also retired.
CALIFORNIA
Chevron said it would relocate the company’s headquarters from San Ramon, where it was born 145 years ago as Pacific Coast Oil Co, to Houston. The company has been bitterly contesting state regulations on its oil producing and refining operations in the state.
California’s oil output a century ago amounted to it being the country’s fourth-largest crude producer, but oil majors have been pulling out amid rising taxes, climate regulations and depleting oil fields.
Chevron expects all corporate functions to migrate to Houston over the next five years. Positions that support its California operations, which includes oil fields and two refineries, will remain in San Ramon, it added.
Chevron CEO Wirth and Vice Chairman Mark Nelson will move to Houston before the end of 2024, the company said.
Chevron has roughly 7,000 employees in the Houston area and about 2,000 employees in San Ramon.
(Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Helen Popper)