BP shareholders have reportedly voted against the hefty salary package proposed by the board for the oil giant’s CEO Bob Dudley.
According to Reuters, Dudley, who took over as CEO from Tony Hayward following the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010, was to receive a $19.6 million compensation for 2015, but almost 60 percent of shareholders voted against.
Prior to the company’s 107th annual general meeting held on in London on Thursday, the chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg acknowledged the ‘very strong’ reactions by the shareholders when it comes to the proposed CEO remuneration.
Addressing the shareholders on the matter Svanberg said: “We will sit down with our largest shareholders to make sure we understand their concerns and return to seek your support for a renewed (remuneration) policy.”
The current remuneration policy, approved in 2014 has a duration of three years. BP expects to bring a new policy to the next AGM in 2017.
Svanberg also hinted there might be changes with BP’s dividend policy in the future: “ We know that the dividend is important to you, our shareholders. Our goal is to maintain the dividend but at the same time we must secure the future by investing wisely. Be assured that we keep this balance under regular review. Should the oil price remain lower, longer than expected, we will need to revisit our financial framework.”
Offshore Energy Today Staff