Journalism of Courage
Premium
This is an archive article published on March 6, 2010
BP chiefs pay soars even as profits plummet
The chief executive of Europes largest oil company by production,BP Plc,enjoyed a 41 per cent rise in total pay in 2009,even though profits dropped 45 per cent....
Written by Reuters
London | March 6, 2010 11:55 PM IST
2 min read
2 min read
Listen to this article
BP chiefs pay soars even as profits plummet
x
00:00
The chief executive of Europes largest oil company by production,BP Plc,enjoyed a 41 per cent rise in total pay in 2009,even though profits dropped 45 per cent. Tony Hayward took home 4.01 million ($6.03 million) in salary,cash bonus and share awards last year,up from 2.85 million in 2008.
The head of BPs remuneration committee,DeAnne Julius,said in the companys annual report that the increase was to reward Hayward for boosting operational performance. BP reported a 4 per cent rise in crude production in 2009,compared with stagnant or lower output at rivals,and the companys refineries ramped back up to full production after outages.
BPs profit collapse was due to the sharp fall in oil and gas prices compared with record levels seen in 2008. BP says its pay plan is structured to ensure that executives are paid based on the underlying profitability of the company and to avoid managers enjoying windfalls simply because oil prices surge.
Haywards pay packet is in line with the $6 million that Peter Voser,the CEO of rival Shell,earned in 2009,though Voser only assumed the top job in July. In 2008 his predecessor Jeroen van der Veer earned $13 million.
Rex Tillerson,the CEO of Exxon,the largest non-government controlled oil company in the world by market capitalisation,was paid total compensation worth $22.4 million in 2008.
Advertisement
Live Blog
PHOTOS
Top Stories
Advertisement
Must Read
Advertisement
Buzzing Now
- 01
- 02
- 03
- 04
- 05
Advertisement