Incoming BP chief Looney sold £7.8m of its shares last year
BERNARD Looney, who is set to become the new boss of BP next month, sold £7.85m (€9.3m) of the oil giant’s shares last year, SEC filings seen by the Sunday Independent show.
On April 20 last year, the 49-year-old Kerryman sold 347,630 shares worth £1.945m, while prior to that, on February 2, he netted £5.905m after selling 1,092,208.
His remaining shareholding will not be declared until he takes up his new post, but he can expect to start on a salary of £1.3m.
Annual and long-term bonuses, plus a pension allowance, would take the maximum pay package he could expect to £10.9m.
The UCD graduate — who was tipped for the top job at BP by this newspaper in 2018 — said in that interview: “This is a company that has given me everything I have in my life... it’s a company I love. It’s given me experiences and a life and career that I would not have otherwise had.”
His new role will see him take on a formidable challenge, attempting to manage what may often be conflicting expectations of shareholders and wider society, while meeting climate agreement goals.
Earlier this week, sources told Reuters that Looney planned to expand the oil and gas giant’s climate targets, and possibly overhaul the structure of a huge company that employs more than 70,000 people around the world.
More stringent climate targets could lead to London-based BP selling its most carbonintensive businesses, such as oil and gas fields in Angola and Canada, the report said. There will also be pressure to invest more of its money in greener energy technologies, which only make up a fraction of current investments.