Chevron Corp. is the latest in a long line of companies to flee California and its extreme, one-party rule that has brought the Golden State to its knees. Once considered the glamour state of the nation, it’s now known for crime, homelessness, taxation, regulation, and far-left social policies. Following the departures of SpaceX, Tesla, Blaze Pizza, Charles Schwab, Hewlett Packard, Oracle, and so many more in just the last few years alone, Chevron announced Friday that they’re ditching San Ramon (about 30 miles southeast of Oakland) and are headed to Houston, Texas.
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The decision comes as the company has faced a hostile state government that’s been harassing them for years:
The move announced Friday will end the company’s 145 years of being based in the most populous US state. The shift prompted Texas Governor Greg Abbott to welcome Chevron to its “true home,” while a spokesperson for his California counterpart Gavin Newsom dismissed it as a “logical culmination” of a years-long transition by the oil giant.
Chevron already had slashed new investments in California refining, citing “adversarial” government policies in a state that has some of the most stringent environmental rules in the US. In January, refining executive Andy Walz warned that the state was playing a “dangerous game” with climate rules that threatened to spike gasoline prices.
Not surprisingly, Gov. Gavin Newsom—endorsed for his 2018 election bid by then-Sen. Kamala Harris, who said at the time, “What we do here is role model of what can be done around the country”—is a centerpiece of the story.
Newsom ran for reelection in 2022 promising to wage war on Big Oil, calling for a special legislative session and asking lawmakers to impose a “price gouging” tax on oil companies. That was later watered down to a task force studying excess profit margins.
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In other words, he virtually begged them to leave. What a great place to do business.
California physician Houman Hemmati, who’s a regular on Fox News at Night, had this to say about the relocation: “GREAT JOB Governor!!!”
Chevron CEO Mike Wirth and Vice Chairman Mark Nelson will be gone before year’s end, and all corporate functions will be relocated within five years.
Wirth had been signaling the move for years, noting that doing business in the Lone Star State was sure to be a much happier experience:
Wirth has been extolling the virtues of the Lone Star State’s business climate for at least half a decade.
“The policies in California have become pretty restrictive on a lot of business fronts, not just the environment,” he said during a 2019 speech in Houston.
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who’s seen a lot of businesses move from California to his state, emphasized his welcome with three words: “Drill baby drill.”
This is the “model for the nation” that Newsom and Harris want to bring to every state. We can’t let that happen.