Exxon begins multimillion-dollar projects for research consolidation in Spring headquarters

May 6, 2025

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) has started renovating its Spring headquarters to make room for its new integrated research center.

In Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filings, the supermajor has registered nearly $30 million worth of renovations and new construction at 22777 Springwoods Village Parkway under the title North America Laboratory Integration Project.

Exxon previously told the Houston Business Journal it was closing a research center in New Jersey and two centers in Canada to consolidate in the Houston area. The consolidation was expected to include relocating up to 600 employees and hiring additional people locally.

Exxon’s largest filing is for a $15.1 million renovation in 12,990 square feet of Science Building 03, set to start on May 1. The company will renovate research lab space in an existing lab building to support new equipment. Exxon also is modifying the mechanical, electrical and plumbing system. That project is scheduled to be completed by July 31, 2026.

Another filing from October plans for construction of a 20,300-square-foot, pre-engineered metal building designated for storage purposes on the campus. This $13 million project is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

Two smaller projects were listed under the same title over the past year. Both were 3,160-square-foot renovations to convert an existing office building into a library, scheduled from September 2024 until May 26, 2025. One of those projects is listed as $300,000 and located on Level 01 of Nature Building 03, while the other is listed as $450,000 and located on the “lower level” of Science Building 02.

Exxon did not provide a comment regarding the TDLR filings.

In an interview with the Houston Business Journal last year, Mike Zamora, president of ExxonMobil Technology and Engineering Co., said having the research facility at the center of the headquarters — in the Science building, to be specific — will breed the necessary collaboration for the technology business, given its involvement with every aspect of Exxon’s business.

The center's initial construction will take place over 18 to 24 months, and the consolidation of the research centers should be complete by early 2028. In that time, Exxon will be moving equipment from New Jersey to Spring and to the Baytown area to set up demonstration facilities.

Zamora added that the Houston area has a great amount of talent to recruit from, which will help fill an ongoing need for employees at the research center.

“Houston is, from a research perspective, the mass center of activity,” Zamora said. "We do some work in other parts of the world, but our research capability is one that we predominantly deliver from the U.S. — and in particular, Houston — in the future."

He added, “If you think about the depth of the industry that exists in Texas, and in particular in the Houston area, we think that's an awesome place to source talent with the skills required today and in the future.”