Energy giant Chevron has earmarked $1 billion to set up a global capability centre (GCC) in Bengaluru, according to reports.

The firm plans to make the Bengaluru facility the largest innovation centre outside of the US, says Akshay Sahni, incoming country head, Chevron India.

The planned amount will be invested over 5-6 years and will be used not only to hire backward and new talent but also to establish centers and partner with Indian vendors who can help develop technology solutions.

“The Chevron Engineering and Innovation Excellence Center (ENGINE), to be built near Bellandur, Bengaluru, will employ about 600 professionals by the end of 2025, with plans to increase the number of positions over time,” Akshay adds.

The company already has three technology centers in Houston, Texas; Richmond, California; and Aberdeen, Scotland.

Akshay says, “Our strategic intent is not just cost savings. What we plan to achieve here is that when you bring work from different parts of the world in one location especially one that is talent-rich like India and especially a city like Bangalore, we can standardize and centralize and streamline a lot of the work that is happening in different parts of the world.”

“You can remove inefficiencies. You can remove repetitive work which has a much larger impact than just cost savings, because now you are able to apply standard solutions across multiple things that are happening. You can scale your technology solutions faster, so if work is happening in different locations, it’s very difficult to apply digital solutions,” adds Akshay.

Chevron ENGINE will address the challenges of meeting today's global energy needs and building tomorrow's low-carbon energy systems, according to Akshay.

The center in India will support Chevron's global operations and projects, as well as Chevron's high-end work, such as understanding the geological subsurface to find the best places to store and sequester carbon.