Chevron to set up engineering & innovation center with $1bn investment

The centre will focus on improving operational reliability, low-carbon energy solutions, and subsurface geology for carbon storage

Global energy solutions provider Chevron is investing $1 billion in a new research and development (R&D) hub called Chevron Engineering and Innovation Excellence Center (ENGINE) in Bengaluru. This marks the company's first engineering and innovation center in India of scale.

Chevron ENGINE, to be located near Bellandur, will be hiring talent with specialised skills encompassing both engineering and digital services, with approximately 600 positions to be filled by 2025-end, and plans to add more positions over time.

Akshay Sahni, incoming country head, Chevron India, stated that the setting up of this center marks a significant milestone in Chevron’s 145-year history. Other than a large technical center in Houston, US, and California, the company has some smaller labs in Aberdeen. India will house one of the larger technology hubs of the company.

"We believe this is a fascinating time for the energy sector, with the dual challenge of meeting growing energy demands while building a lower-carbon energy system for the future. And the people here at the ENGINE will help work towards those technology solutions,” he told Business Standard in a video interview.

The company plans to hire and recruit from all the disciplines of engineering — mechanical, chemical, computer science and electrical. It will also be recruiting specialists in geology, geophysics and environmental science.

Sahni emphasized that the $1 billion investment signifies not only financial commitment but also the sharing of global expertise. "We'll see collaborative partnerships resulting in technology solutions developed at scale in Bangalore. We truly believe that it'll take partnerships between the immense talent that is available in India and some of our subject matter experts around the world."

The center will focus on improving operational reliability, low-carbon energy solutions, and subsurface geology for carbon storage. Sahni noted that Chevron's relationship with third-party tech services will continue to be beneficial, with plans for both external partnerships and in-house collaborations.

Sahni also added that creating its own center in India does not mean that the relevance of third-party tech services will go down.

He added that Chevron has been in India for many years now and the firm’s relationship with tech services companies has been beneficial. “Technology service companies have helped design some of our more complex projects and operational facilities. We want to augment and build on the experience that we've had with engineering service companies,” he said.

Sahni also said that the company will need all types of partnerships, including that with external services providers. “In some cases we see this growing; as we are now in India, we’ll be able to collaborate with more partners than before. But in some cases we may bring work in-house as well,” he said.

Chevron in India recently partnered with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation. Chevron Brands, a subsidiary of Chevron Corporation, entered into a long-term agreement to introduce Chevron’s lubricant products. Chevron is one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, with presence in over 150 countries.

Strong footing
 

> In FY23, India had over 1,580 GCCs

> India accounts for half of world’s GCCs

> The country is set to have 1,900+ GCCs by 2025 with a market size of $60 billion

> In Q4FY23 alone, 10 GCCs were established, of which, 60% were in E&RD
 

Source: Nasscom-KPMG