Voser receives double BP counterpart’s prize after success in north American gas and China expansion
Royal Dutch Shell chief executive Peter Voser received a €3.3m (£2.8m) cash bonus in 2012, a year in which the Anglo-Dutch oil group reported a fall in profits from $28.6bn to $27bn.
The bonus took his total salary package to €5.1m, down from €5.2m the previous year, although this is still more than double the $2.7m (£1.8m) package given to BP boss Bob Dudley last year. Dudley received no bonus as the company continues to deal with the consequences of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Shell’s annual report released on Thursday also revealed that Malcolm Brinded, who left his post as exploration and production director in April, received a total payment of €3.4m including €2.5m of severance pay. On top of that, he received a €992,000 payment to compensate him on a loss on the sale of his property in the Netherlands. Shell bought the property from Brinded in November for €2.4m. Brinded also realised a €1.8m gain on exercising share options granted in 2004.
Shell’s fourth-quarter performance disappointed the City despite a 4.7% increase in dividend payments, while Voser admitted the economic outlook was “uncertain” in some of the company’s key markets.
Even so, he was awarded 195,393 shares – with a current value of three times his salary – as part of the company’s long-term incentive plan. During the year, some 91,000 shares under previous schemes were released to Voser with a value of €2.5m.
Explaining his bonus payment, the company said: “Peter Voser strongly led the strategy review and its implementation, including delivery of key projects following final investment decisions, which progressed well in all business units. He actively drove portfolio management leading to initiatives to further commercialise the north American gas position, and to deepen the China strategy.”
Shell, along with other oil companies, was cleared by the Office of Fair Trading of profiteering on the UK forecourts. Its exploration and production businesses continued to drive growth, but moving into environments such as the Arctic has proved controversial, and last month Shell said it was halting its 2013 drilling plans off Alaska after a series of failures. But it remains committed to drilling again at a later date.
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