BP Bob pockets £13.9m

( even though his firm lost £4.6bn )

THE boss of BP has been paid a total of £13.9m in pay and perks despite the oil giant recording its biggest ever loss last year of £4.6bn.

American Bob Dudley, 60, saw his pay and perks jump from a total package of £11.54m in the previous year.

BP, like other oil firms, has been forced to cut costs and shrink operations in the face of the tumbling oil price which has collapsed more than 70pc since the $115 a barrel level of summer 2014.

It has previously announced it is reducing its headcount by nearly 10pc and is culling 3,000 jobs from its downstream division – the refining and retail part of its group – and 4,000 cuts across its oil and gas exploration and production business.

It is also still dealing with the fall-out from the fatal 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

BP said the 2015 loss for the year was largely related to the settlement with the US government over the fines paid for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill which is described as a ‘significant step forward settling some of the largest outstanding issues.’ The total pay-out is expected to be around £38bn.

Dudley’s pay, revealed in the company’s annual report, is comprised of £1.31m basic salary, a £983,000 cash bonus, £6.8m in deferred bonus shares and performance shares, and £4.6m in pension payment.

BP highlighted that excluding pension payments Dudley’s deal was actually below the previous year.

Dudley became chief executive in October 2010 and has worked in the oil sector around the world including in the US, Russia, Angola, Algeria and Egypt and started his career at US giant Amoco Corporation before it was taken over by BP in the 1990s. BP (up 5.9p to 367.9p) also pointed out that the majority of its executive directors’ remuneration is in shares, which are held for long periods rather than short-term cash payments.