Talisman, Direct Energy Place Bets on Houston

By Georgiana Mihaila, Associate Editor

With nearly half of its economic activity driven by the energy industry, Houston is living up to its name of “Energy Capital of the World” by landing two more companies.

Talisman Energy USA plans on moving the main office for its Eagle Ford shale development program to The Woodlands; the company has recently signed a lease for 218,000 square feet in Research Forest Lakeside—the 77-acre development that is to consist, upon completion, of 10 office buildings and retail space, totaling nearly 1.8 million square feet.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the Talisman lease is split between two buildings, one of them—a 68,000-square-foot property—already completed and a new 300,000-square-foot, 12-story tower that is set to break ground this year. Designed by ZC+O (Ziegler Cooper Architects and Odell Associates), both buildings aim at attaining certain levels of LEED certification. The business park also serves as home to Aon Hewitt.

Direct Energy has also officially announced its plan of moving the company’s corporate head office to Houston as part of a growth strategy within the U.S. energy market. Direct Energy, one of North America’s largest energy and energy-related services providers, has been headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, for the past 11 years; according to the official release, the relocation of the company’s headquarters will not affect its commitment to customers in Ontario, who will continue to be supported by a large employee base.

“The relocation of our corporate head office to Houston will allow us to focus our attention on growth opportunities in the U.S., where competitive energy markets are thriving, particularly in Texas and the U.S. Northeast region,” said Chris Weston, the company’s president & CEO. “Over the last decade, Direct Energy has successfully pursued both acquisitive and organic growth in the U.S., entering more than 20 new markets in the last 12 months, and we will continue this strategy into 2012.”

Direct Energy’s Residential Energy and Upstream and Trading businesses are already based in Houston; the corporate relocation will take the next 12 to 18 months to be completed.

Photo Courtesy of Ziegler Cooper Architects