Apache Corp. Moving Its Global Headquarters To Westchase
Oil and gas exploration and production company Apache Corp. is moving its global headquarters from Post Oak Central to BriarLake Plaza in 2024 in a move that could see it halve its Houston office footprint.
Under an early lease renewal with Cousins Properties, Apache will expand its current 210K SF space at BriarLake Plaza to 328K SF, while apparently clearing out of its longtime 500K SF-plus home at Post Oak Central.
The new BriarLake Plaza lease stretches to 2038, while the original lease was set to expire in 2024, Cousins said in a news release.
Apache expects to upgrade the new HQ, which will house all of its 800-some employees.
“The customized space we will build out at BriarLake will facilitate employee connection, reduce drive times for the majority of our employees, and enhance the employee workplace experience,” Apache Senior Vice President of Administration Mark Maddox said in a release. “Once complete, the new Apache office will feature a variety of collaboration spaces, state-of-the-art technology, and numerous employee amenities."
Cousins has owned BriarLake Plaza since it acquired TIER REIT Inc. in 2019. BriarLake Plaza is in the Memorial Corridor of the Westchase submarket. Apache had been subleasing some of its BriarLake space since at least 2016, the Houston Business Journal reported, referencing a previous report about Apache putting 93K SF up for sublease.
Apache will occupy its expanded space by early 2024 when its lease expires at 2000 Post Oak Blvd. The company leases 524K SF at Post Oak Central, meaning its exit would shrink Apache's overall Houston presence by more than 50%, per the Houston Chronicle.
Apache did not directly answer a Bisnow question about the fate of its Post Oak Central space, near where it bought land in 2012 to build a new HQ, reiterating only that "Apache will relocate its Houston headquarters from Post Oak to BriarLake Plaza in 2024."
The move is part of a trend that has seen large employers move west to be closer to their employment base as hybrid work takes hold. Companies like Bechtel and Baker Hughes have downsized their Houston office space this year, with energy services company Baker Hughes trimming its space about 62% by consolidating four offices into a new Energy Corridor headquarters.
Apache has operations in the United States, Egypt’s Western Desert and the United Kingdom’s North Sea, and it is exploring offshore Suriname.
