Way back in 2017, Oklahoma oil overlord Larry Nichols gave an interview to the OKC Chamber of Commerce to reflect on his time as the founder, CEO, and liege lord of Devon Energy – the company he built into a Fortune 500 company, and one of the largest oil and gas producers in the United States.
In the interview, he was specifically asked why he never moved the company to Houston – the energy capital of the US – like everyone expected…
When J. Larry Nichols founded Devon Energy Corporation alongside his father in 1971, other business leaders in the oil and gas industry told him he needed to move to Houston in order to be successful.
“Every year our continued success allowed us to grow and prosper here, so there never was a real convincing need, despite what other people said,” Nichols remembers. “As the city has grown and prospered, any thought of moving elsewhere fades into distant memory because of Oklahoma City’s robust image. Each year is bigger and better than the last year.”