OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — As major energy companies announce plans to move their headquarters from Oklahoma City to Houston, experts say the reasons may have less to do with what Oklahoma is doing wrong and more about publicly-traded companies’ priority to serve shareholders above others.
Experts say that while there are certain things the state can improve upon, in the case of Devon Energy and Expand Energy, the deck was already stacked against Oklahoma outside of the state’s control.
“The joke around my part of the city is that we’d rather live in Oklahoma City because we have less traffic, better weather, and a better basketball team,” Former Oklahoma City University Business School Dean Steve Agee told News 4.
Expand Energy to move headquarters to Houston
Agee said he believes the moves can mostly be blamed on the fact that Devon and Expand are publicly-traded companies, which prioritize shareholders before their communities, employees, or customers.
“I think we all have to step back and make sure that we understand corporations like this are in business to make money and they’re in business to provide good returns for their shareholders,” Agee said.
“Devon and Expand are thinking that—in order to enhance shareholder value—a move like this would probably be the appropriate thing to do,” Agee said.
Over the past decade, other publicly-traded energy companies have also moved to Houston, including ExxonMobil, leaving the Dallas–Fort Worth area, and Chevron leaving California.
Walt Duncan, president of privately-held Oklahoma City-based Duncan Oil Properties, said publicly traded companies often want to position themselves near each other to serve as a one-stop shop for industry analysts.
“The public companies want to have as much coverage as they can by industry analysts,” Duncan said. “And so, you know, most of these analysts are coming out of New York. You know, if they can stop in one city and, you know, hit 20 different companies that they have to cover, that’s much easier for them.”
Duncan said boards overseeing Devon and Expand have included fewer and fewer Oklahomans over the years, leaving fewer leaders with ties to the community.
It’s different for privately-held companies like Continental Resources—soon to be Oklahoma City’s largest remaining energy company.
State and local leaders react to Devon and Coterra merger
Continental Resources CEO Harold Hamm told The Oklahoman Monday he’s committed to keeping the company in Oklahoma.
“I don’t have any concern that Continental being private is ever going to is ever going to want to go to Houston,” Duncan said. “You really do have to think about it, and you have to take sort of the executive management team, I do not know very many people in the industry, you know, kind of rank and file, that I have ever heard of being excited to move to Houston.”
And while the moves could leave the city feeling a bit helpless, leaders at the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber said they believe the gaps will be filled.
“Our growth and population remains solid and strong,” said Christy Gillenwater, president of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. “So again, we follow these larger metrics to make sure we’re headed in the right direction. And we are. But again, we partner with others on addressing what those opportunities are so that we can be more competitive in the future as well.”
Chamber leaders also point out that energy now makes up about two percent of the local economy.
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