XTO will start its move to Spring

Exxon Mobil’s shale subsidiary XTO Energy will begin moving its headquarters next week from Fort Worth to the Houston area.

The plan is to shift up to 1,200 jobs to Exxon Mobil’s Spring campus as the Texas company consolidates more of its operations near Houston. The Spring campus opened in 2014 but wasn’t completed until 2016. As many as 400 more XTO positions are expected to move to Spring in 2020.

Exxon Mobil, headquartered in Irving, bought XTO for more than $30 billion in 2010 to dramatically expand its exploration and production of oil and gas from U.S. shale fields. Exxon Mobil is investing billions of dollars to develop holdings in the Permian Basin in West Texas, for example.

As XTO is integrated into Exxon Mobil, XTO is closing its downtown Fort Worth offices. The move to Spring is expected to occur from June 1 to July 1.

While Exxon Mobil isn’t releasing specific numbers, company officials said a large majority of the Fort Worth employees are relocating to the Spring campus. Others will be reassigned to other Dallas-area locations.

So far, only about 65 of the workers are deciding against relocating and losing their jobs, said XTO spokesman Jeremy Eikenberry. They will receive severance pay.

“We recognize this decision impacts people’s lives,” he said, “and it was only made with careful consideration to those people and our business.”

XTO also is expected to hire more people to work at the Spring campus, but Exxon Mobil isn’t revealing any details.