Energy giant Chevron is setting up a $1-billion engineering and innovation centre in India, its second biggest in the world, as it looks to tap the country’s engineering and technology talent to support its global operations and projects, its India head Akshay Sahni said.

The Chevron Engineering and Innovation Excellence Center (ENGINE) in Bengaluru is not a back office but a centre that will do works ranging from understanding geology for oil and gas production and carbon storage to developing digital twins for oil refineries and advanced process monitoring to improve supply reliability, he said on the sidelines of the India Energy Week here.

It will be the company’s largest centre outside of the US.

“ENGINE is a state-of-the-art technology hub to support Chevron’s global projects and operations. This is where we plan to build a diverse and inclusive workforce that will deliver technology solutions to support affordable, reliable and ever-cleaner energy for a growing world,” he said.

It’s very well aligned with India’s vision as well to have affordable energy supplies and the people at the ENGINE will work on higher-end technology solutions to support this vision.

Layoff plans

Chevron will lay off 15 per cent to 20 per cent of its global workforce, aiming to cut $2-3 billion in structural costs by the end of next year. The energy giant employs more than 40,000 people globally.

Chevron is streamlining operations to boost efficiency and long-term competitiveness. This includes optimising its portfolio, leveraging technology, and expanding global work centres.