BP has not paid its new chief executive or his predecessor bonuses in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, its annual report revealed yesterday.
Two other senior directors will receive combined payouts worth nearly £700,000 on top of their regular salaries, however.
Chief financial officer Byron Grote and chief executive of refining and marketing Iain Conn were awarded £380,000 and £310,000 respectively for hitting targets in their area of the business.
Chief executive Bob Dudley, who took up the top post in October, and his predecessor, Tony Hayward, will not receive a bonus.
Andy Inglis, former head of exploration and production at the energy major, was also denied the additional payout.
The report added it was Mr Dudley’s view that no bonuses should be paid on group-level results.
Defending the decision to award Mr Grote and Mr Conn bonuses, remuneration committee chairman DeAnne Julius said: “While the tragedy of lost lives and environmental damage remains foremost in everyone’s minds, the committee also wished to fairly acknowledge the good business results in many parts of BP, delivered in the most testing of times.”
Mr Conn has chosen to take two-thirds of his bonus as cash and defer the remainder as shares for three years, whereas Mr Grote will take one-third in cash, and defer the remainder in shares.
Salaries for board members at BP have not increased markedly from 2009 to 2010 but Mr Dudley’s basic pay went up to £722,188 from £460,900 in 2009 because he took the position of CEO.
Mr Dudley has unveiled a raft of strategic moves at the embattled firm, including a return to dividend payments, increased spending on exploration and the proposed sale of two key US refineries.
BP signed a couple of international deals recently which should push it into key emerging markets.
The first, a £10billion agreement with Russian oil giant Rosneft, will see it explore the Arctic, while more recently it announced a £4.5billion tie-up with Indian giant Reliance Industries.