After acquiring Newfield Exploration in a $5.5 billion all-stock deal, Canadian energy firm Encana is laying off more than 270 workers at the former Newfield headquarters near Houston.
The 275 job cuts will take place between now and the end of May. Newfield, the company with expansive drilling operations in Oklahoma’s STACK play had previously employed nearly 600 people at its offices in The Woodlands. But Encana has decided to slash the workforce in Texas.
But Encana Chief Executive Doug Suttles has indicated the company will keep and maintain Newfield’s old headquarters where much of its U.S. shale operations will be led.
The Newfield deal, announced at the end of October, bolstered Encana’s U.S. presence with Newfield’s holdings in oil-producing regions, especially in Oklahoma and North Dakota. The expanded Encana has become one of the top shale producers in North America.
While Encana is headquartered in Calgary, the company has more oil and gas activity in Texas than Newfield. Encana operates in both the Permian Basin and the Eagle Ford shale. Suttles said the deal will leave Encana with significant operations in three major oil regions, Permian, Oklahoma and in western Canada, home of the Montney shale.
The goal is to create a combined company with the best mix of shale oil assets in North America, Suttles said.
Newfield had beefed up its employee base in The Woodlands in recent years, moving more people to the Houston area as it closed its offices in Denver and Tulsa.