BP’s boss Bernard Looney has benefitted handsomely from the surge in oil prices it was revealed today with his pay more than doubling last year to £4.46mln.
Most of that was a £2.4mln annual boss another nothing the previous year after what Paula Rosput Reynolds, chair of BP's remuneration committee, described as an ’outstanding’ financial performance.
The UK oil giant posted profits of US$12.8bn in 2021, against a loss of US$5.7bn when oil prices slumped.
But recovery from Covid has seen crude spike from around US$30 a barrel then to nearer US$100 now and Looney himself described BP as a ‘cash machine’ at these prices alongside the latest figures.
Teh CEO's thrust since taking over at BP in February 2020 has been to 'greenify' the business with a focus on sustainable and renewable energies.
But the fact remains that BP still makes most of its money from oil and gas.
Calls have grown recently for the oil sector to be subject to a windfall tax, though few are expecting this from Chancellor Rishi Sunak in his Spring Statement next week.
Looney has also said BP will sell its 19.5% stake in Russian oil group Rosneft (LSE:ROSN) following the invasion of Ukraine, though sanctions currently in place mean that might cost it US$25bn according to analysts.
Separately BP called on its shareholders to reject a resolution filed at its AGM by Dutch activist group Follow This to accelerate its energy transition strategy.
BP said that the resolution was "unclear, generic, disruptive and would create confusion as to board and shareholder accountabilities".