{"id":296013,"date":"2026-05-16T13:28:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T13:28:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/296013\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T13:28:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T13:28:23","slug":"as-texas-leads-in-population-growth-major-companies-expanding-in-houston-area-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/296013\/","title":{"rendered":"As Texas leads in population growth, major companies expanding in Houston area | Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"ltr\">(The Center Square) \u2013\u00a0As Texas continues to <a style=\"font-size: 12px;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/texas\/article_a8daa339-ed2a-4bea-b256-832b8d97ffe9.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">lead in population<\/a> and <a style=\"font-size: 12px;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/texas\/article_0932a77f-1734-40cd-9a90-81f7e0cb8ff0.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">job growth<\/a> nationwide, major companies are expanding in the state\u2019s largest city of Houston.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">From oil and natural gas companies to big tech and sports entertainment, major companies are expanding operations and establishing headquarters in Houston, the fourth largest city in the country.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The largest\u00a0independent natural gas producer in the U.S., Expand Energy Corp., is relocating its corporate headquarters and executive leadership team to Spring, north of Houston, from Oklahoma City. The move comes after a multibillion-dollar merger between Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">It\u2019s also meeting increased liquified natural gas (LNG) demand as the Iran conflict continues to disrupt shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, The Center Square <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/texas\/article_8bf289d5-bef7-40e8-b799-48ea87f27fb5.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">reported.<\/a><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThe world critically needs natural gas supply to meet rapidly rising power demand, growing industrial activity, and global LNG expansion to address a global reset in energy security,\u201d Mike Wichterich, interim president and CEO of Expand Energy <a href=\"https:\/\/investors.expandenergy.com\/news-releases\/news-release-details\/expand-energy-corporation-reports-first-quarter-2026-results\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">said<\/a> when announcing first quarter results. \u201cWe\u2019re built for this future as the largest, low-cost, market-connected natural gas producer in America, with differentiat&#8221;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">After a recent merger, Devon Energy\u2019s new headquarters will also be Houston, expected this year. The company also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.devonenergy.com\/news\/2026\/Devon-Energy-and-Coterra-Energy-to-Combine-Creating-a-Premier-Shale-Operator\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">announced<\/a> its plan to expand operations in the Delaware Basin (in the Permian Basin in west Texas), responding to increased demand as geopolitical conflicts continue.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">New Canadian-Texas oil and natural gas partnerships are also being forged in Houston, The Center Square <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/texas\/article_37d532a3-fd64-437d-a5c1-7c92cab265c6.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">reported.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Earlier this year, Exxon Mobil announced its plans to redomicile in Spring, leaving New Jersey after more than 100 years, citing Texas\u2019 new business court. In 2024, Chevron, the oil giant founded in California, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/texas\/article_19cf640c-510a-11ef-8f5c-a3e41ce8e66f.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">relocated its<\/a> headquarters to Houston. Other major companies reincorporating in Texas are also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/texas\/article_bf8e4717-fa47-41ce-a02e-6ad5a2ad571a.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">citing<\/a> its \u201cBoom Belt\u201d policies and new business court.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">As the energy capital of the world, Houston\u00a0is\u00a0\u201cfueled by a strong talent pool that supports over 4,200 firms in oil and gas and advanced\u00a0energy\u00a0tech,\u201d the Greater Houston Partnership <a href=\"https:\/\/www.houston.org\/why-houston\/industries\/energy\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">explains.<\/a> \u201cWith two international airports, four deepwater ports, and a thriving network of R&amp;D hubs and startup accelerators,\u00a0Houston\u00a0drives innovation across the region. Houston is not just an oil and gas powerhouse but the epicenter of the energy evolution, shaping the future of renewables, hydrogen, carbon capture, biofuels and next-generation technologies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">When it comes to big tech, Houston is also becoming a major AI hub with new Apple AI server manufacturing and Nvidia semiconductor manufacturing plants, The Center Square <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/texas\/article_e0348fe6-f6e2-4993-903e-896cacaa4454.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">reported.<\/a> Both are partnering with Houston higher education institutions and investing in local communities with long-term economic growth as a stated goal.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Apple is soon rolling out its first Mac mini made in the U.S., manufactured at a new facility in northwest Houston. Apple\u2019s ongoing expansion in the Houston area is expected to create thousands of jobs, it says.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cApple is deeply committed to the future of American manufacturing, and we\u2019re proud to significantly expand our footprint in Houston with the production of Mac mini,\u201d Apple CEO Tim Cook <a href=\"https:\/\/www.apple.com\/newsroom\/2026\/02\/apple-accelerates-us-manufacturing-with-mac-mini-production\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">said.<\/a> He also said their operations were ahead of schedule, including the shipping of advanced AI servers from Houston.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">When it comes to professional sports, the WNBA is returning to Houston thanks to billionaire businessman Tilman Fertitta and his company Fertitta Entertainment.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">On Thursday, the WNBA and NBA <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wnba.com\/news\/wnba-nba-approve-connecticut-sun-sale\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">approved<\/a> the sale of the Connecticut Sun from the Mohegan Tribe to Tilman Fertitta. The team will be renamed the Houston Comets after one of the eight original WNBA teams when the league launched in 1997.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Houston hasn\u2019t had a WNBA team since 2008 when the Houston Comets disbanded.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The Houston Comets 2.0 will play at Toyota Center when the 2027 season begins next year.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(The Center Square) \u2013\u00a0As Texas continues to lead in population and job growth nationwide, major companies are expanding&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":296014,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[918,451,27,29,28],"class_list":["post-296013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-economy","tag-energy","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296013\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}