Widely considered the energy capital of the world, Houston, Texas has built its strategic advantage as a hub of energy commerce upon several synergistic attributes. The city is within reach of multiple prolific producing fields including the prodigious Permian, Haynesville and Eagle Ford basins, as well as multiple older legacy fields, not to mention production in the waters off the Gulf Coast. The Houston Ship Channel and Intracoastal Waterway also give the city premier access to domestic and international shipping markets. So, it makes sense that Houston, in addition to being home to a vast refining and industrial complex, is nestled in the center of the fastest growing sector for U.S. natural gas; LNG terminal development that spans the Gulf Coast from Brownsville to Baton Rouge. And it’s a stone’s throw away from Mont Belvieu, home to the world’s largest salt dome hydrocarbon storage area and the fractionation and petrochemical industry it serves. And the cherry on top is a business-friendly, low-tax environment that helps to capitalize on those advantages and propel growth.
All of these factors, and more, combine to make Houston an ideal ecosystem for energy companies to do business. It’s long been the home of some of the biggest oil and gas companies in the world, and that list is continuing to grow. Recent additions to Houston’s illustrious roster include ExxonMobil which moved its headquarters there from Irving, Texas in 2022-2023. The next heavy hitter was Chevron, which began its migration from San Ramon, California in 2024. And the blue-chippers keep coming. Announced on February 2 in conjunction with its merger with Coterra, Devon said that it would be headquartering the combined entity in Houston rather than Oklahoma City. And, not to be outdone, natural gas heavyweight Expand Energy announced on February 9 that it would also depart from Oklahoma City and begin calling Clutch City home.
How significant are these moves? One way to get perspective is to look at the portion of the natural gas supply pie that these companies control. Just 13 companies (shown on the right side of the pie graph) control half of U.S. gross gas production. Of those, 10 are headquartered in Texas (blue-gray shaded slices). And of the top 7 gas producers, only EQT calls a city other than Houston home.
