BP Leases Office Space in Skanska Building in Energy Corridor

HOUSTON – London-based BP PLC (NYSE: BP) has leased 91,000 square feet in the Energy Corridor at West Memorial Place II for its Lower 48 division, according to a spokesman for BP.

BP announced plans to separate its Lower 48 division in 2015, and then in 2016 the company revealed it would relocate the Lower 48 division’s headquarters to Denver. The Denver headquarters opened last month. However, BP still has around 400 employees as part of its Lower 48 division based in Houston, HBJ reported in September.

The Houston Lower 48 employees will relocate from office space at Eldridge and Memorial before the end of the year, according to the spokesman.

BP’s space is a direct lease, according to the spokesman. However, BP’s space is part of the space that was up for sublease from IHI E&C International Corp. in the building, according to Mark O’Donnell with Savills Studely who represented IHI in the deal. The deal with BP at West Memorial Place II was a three-party transaction that resulted in IHI being taken off the lease and a direct deal with the landlord and BP. Jennifer Jordan with Savills Studely and O’Donnell represented IHI. JLL’s Louis Rosenthal and Anya Marmuscak represented BP Lower 48, according to an Oct. 12 release.

BP Lower 48’s space includes 5,500 square feet on the ground floor that the company will utilize for amenities and will include a patio overlooking Terry Hershey Park, per the statement.

“The building’s location and amenities are terrific, and the modern, contemporary features fit well with the culture of our company,” said Danny Falligant, director of land and real estate for BP Lower 48, in the statement.

BP Lower 48’s new Denver headquarters includes a London-themed game room, a gym, an indoor bike garage, a mediation room, a reservable private prayer room and a library lounge, HBJ previously reported.

In 2015, Houston-based IHI E&C International Corp., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo-based IHI Corp., preleased around 158,000 square feet in West Memorial Place II at 15377 Memorial Drive. Around 72,500 square feet of that space is still available for sublease, according to O’Donnell. The developer of the building, New York-based Skanska, started construction on a speculative basis in early 2015.

West Memorial Place II is a sister building to Skanska’s West Memorial Place I next door. The complex sits on a 12-acre site that once housed the office for Arco, which is a company BP bought in 2000.

The BP Lower 48 division is in the midst of a $10.5-billion deal buying nearly 500,000 acres of oil and gas assets from Australian mining giant BHP Billiton. The deal is expected to close by Halloween.