Shell CEO bags bumper €20m pay packet

The boss of Royal Dutch Shell received a 126 per cent pay rise last year, pocketing €20.1 million (£17m) after higher oil prices boosted profits at the energy giant.

Chief executive Ben van Beurden saw his pay packet climb from €8.9m to more than €15m as part of a longterm incentive plan and he scooped a €3m annual bonus.

The news follows a strong year for the oil giant, which in January revealed its biggest profit haul for four years.

The blue-chip firm posted underlying earnings of $21.4 billion (£16.1bn) for 2018, a rise of 36 per cent.

As well as higher oil prices throughout the bulk of the year, Shell also benefited from dramatic cost-cutting, while selling off assets.

Van Beurden has been leading an ambitious efficiency drive since the industry was buffeted by the 2014 oil price crash.

However, the bumper pay award is likely to reignite the debate about executive pay.

Last year, more than a quarter of Shell investors voted against his remuneration at the energy giant’s annual meeting. The oil chief’s salary is 143 times that of the average Shell employee.

Shell said it is “sensitive to the wider societal discussions regarding the level of executive pay”, adding that it spent a significant amount of time discussing the bumper payout.

The group added: “We believe our ratio is consistent with those seen in other FTSE 30 companies, although it is challenging to draw a meaningful comparison given the different markets and industries in which they operate.” 0 Shell chief Van Beurden’s pay has more than doubled