Ten biggest North Sea oil and gas bosses pay rises to £54m

theguardian.com:

Bosses of some of the largest North Sea oil and gas companies have been handed bumper payouts — including an £4.6m ‘golden hello’ for the chief executive of the region’s biggest producer – amid growing pressure for a windfall tax.

The majority of chief executives of the biggest North Sea oil and gas operators received a pay hike, according to recently filed accounts, boosted by the rapid recovery in the oil price from the depths of the pandemic.

Analysis by the Guardian shows the executives of the 10 largest North Sea operators received a combined £54.4m in their last reported financial year, up from £29.4m a year earlier.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sent energy prices rocketing further, earning huge returns for the oil giants, piling pressure on household energy bills and stoking demands for a one-off tax on their profits.

Labour has called for a windfall tax to raise £2bn, and Tesco chairman John Allan this week added to the growing clamour, saying there was an “overwhelming case” for one.

BP’s boss Bernard Looney is due to face shareholders on Thursday, where they will vote on its “climate transition plan” and his £4.5m pay package, up from £1.7m in 2020. Looney has said that BP becomes a “cash machine” at these prices, and it recently said profits more than doubled to $6.2bn (£5bn) in the first three months of the year.

The chief executive of the North Sea’s largest operator, Harbour Energy’s Linda Cook, landed a £4.6m “golden hello”, as part of her £6m pay package.

Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden received £6.1m in 2021, up from £4.9m a year earlier, while French multinational TotalEnergies’ chairman and chief executive Patrick Pouyanne received €5.94m, an increase on €3.92m in 2020.

Smaller operators Spirit