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BP chief executive Murray Auchincloss’s pay fell 30 per cent to £5.36mn last year after the struggling oil major failed to hit profit, operation and safety targets.
While Auchincloss’s base salary rose to £1.45mn, from £1.02mn in 2023, his share awards dropped sharply to £2.75mn, compared with £4.36mn, as BP decided that he was only eligible for just over a fifth of the maximum number of shares, according to the company’s annual report on Thursday.
Last month, BP tore up a five-year-old strategy to become a leading green energy company and Auchincloss promised the company would instead focus on oil and gas, and sell $20bn of assets in the next two years.
BP, which has committed to cutting spending on renewable energy by 70 per cent as it reset its strategy, said it would now remove targets for its green energy businesses from its bonus calculations for the current year.
Auchincloss’s 2024 pay packet is likely to be significantly smaller than that of Shell boss Wael Sawan, who received just under £8mn of compensation in 2023. Shell has yet to publish its 2024 annual report.
Meanwhile, BP’s chair Helge Lund, who has also been criticised for overseeing the company’s failed previous strategy, saw his salary increase by 4.4 per cent to £845,000, although his overall package remained roughly unchanged at £882,000.
BP also said it had appointed Ian Tyler, former chief executive of Balfour Beatty, as chair of its remuneration committee, subject to approval at its annual general meeting.
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