Failure Pays Well: Shell CEO Bags 60% Pay Rise as Profits Slide and the Planet Warms

 

In the strange universe of global oil capitalism — where gravity appears to work in reverse — Shell’s chief executive has just demonstrated the timeless corporate principle that less profit can still mean more pay.

According to Shell’s newly released annual report, CEO Wael Sawan’s remuneration surged by more than 60% to £13.8 million in 2025, up from £8.6 million the previous year. 

The catch?

Shell’s profits fell sharply at the same time.

The company reported adjusted earnings of $18.5 billion for the year — down from $23.7 billion previously, a drop of roughly 22%. 

Apparently the solution to declining profits at a fossil-fuel giant is not restraint in the boardroom — but rather a bigger cheque for the person in charge.

The £13.8 Million Question

 

Most of Sawan’s windfall came from performance-related bonuses and share awards.

The package included:

• £2.7 million annual bonus

• £9.1 million in long-term share incentives

• A base salary and additional benefits bringing the total to £13.8 million. 

 

To put that into perspective, Sawan earned roughly £37,800 per day in 2025.

That is about the same as the average UK worker earns in an entire year.

But before anyone accuses Shell of excessive generosity, the company’s defenders have an explanation: shareholders are happy.

Shell’s share price has climbed more than 30% since Sawan became CEO in 2023, driven largely by aggressive cost cutting and a renewed focus on fossil-fuel production. 

Which brings us to the real engine of executive pay.

Shareholders First. Everything Else Later.

 

Shell has increasingly pivoted away from its previous talk of becoming a broad energy transition company.

Instead, under Sawan, the company has doubled down on what it knows best: oil, gas, and returning cash to investors.

That strategy has included:

• Multi-billion-dollar share buybacks

• Rising dividend payouts

• Cost cutting, including reductions in low-carbon divisions

 

For the asset-management giants that dominate Shell’s shareholder register — including BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street — this approach has been highly satisfactory.

For climate campaigners, the optics are less impressive.

The pay rise comes after a year marked by extreme weather events and mounting warnings from scientists about fossil-fuel expansion.

Patrick Galey of Global Witness described executive pay at oil companies as “obscene” given the climate crisis and rising household energy costs.

A Timeless Oil Industry Tradition

 

To be fair, Shell is hardly unique in rewarding executives generously.

Across the Atlantic, compensation at US oil majors is dramatically higher. ExxonMobil’s CEO earned $44.1 million in 2024, while Chevron’s chief took home $32.7 million. 

Against that benchmark, Shell might even appear relatively modest.

But modesty is not exactly the word most critics would choose.

Particularly when executive bonuses are paid during a period of declining profits and rising geopolitical instability in oil markets.

Recent disruptions in the Middle East have already pushed crude prices higher, creating the familiar spectacle of oil companies profiting from global turmoil. 

In that context, a CEO pay packet approaching £14 million may strike some observers as less a reward for performance — and more a feature of the fossil-fuel business model itself.

The Corporate Logic of the Oil Age

 

Inside the industry, the explanation is straightforward.

Executive compensation is primarily tied to shareholder returns and stock performance, not environmental outcomes or long-term planetary stability.

In other words:

If investors win, the CEO wins.

And as long as the world continues burning oil and gas at enormous scale, the oil majors — and their executives — will continue doing very well indeed.

Whether the climate does is another question entirely.

DISCLAIMER

This article is commentary and opinion based on publicly reported information and news sources. It is intended for journalistic and analytical discussion of corporate governance, energy policy, and environmental issues.

Nothing in this article should be interpreted as financial or investment advice.

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