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BHP Billiton Petroleum unveils plans for Post Oak tower

BHP Billiton Petroleum said Monday it will hire hundreds of new employees and lease a 30-story office tower to be built at 1500 Post Oak Blvd. to accommodate its expanding shale business and future growth.

Construction is expected to start later this year on the new building, which will be connected to the company’s current headquarters at 1360 Post Oak Blvd, creating a two-tower campus. A glass skybridge will connect the structures.

The buildings will house several thousand BHP employees, many still to be hired. Some 1,800 existing BHP employees will office there, including workers in other locations. Employees in downtown’s Wells Fargo Tower and a building in Tulsa, Okla. will relocate to the Post Oak headquarters.

“We’ll probably be pushing 3,000 when we move into the new building,” CEO J. Micheal Yeager said at a press conference.

In total, BHP will occupy about 1 million square feet in both buildings. The new tower will have 560,000 square feet.

Transwestern will develop the new building for owner TIAA-CREF.

BHP Billiton deals in natural resources ranging from iron ore and uranium to oil and natural gas. The company is headquartered in Melbourne, with a major office in London, but the petroleum division is based in Houston.

Architectural firm Pickard Chilton designed the building, which is expected to open in 2016. Gensler also was involved.

“We have designed this new building with employee productivity and appeal as top priorities to retain current employees and attract prospective employees,” Yeager said in a statement. “We plan to hire hundreds of new people in the immediate future. To attract the most talent, we believe we need to offer them the best possible work environment.”

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