Shell’s Former CEO Paid £9.7M Amid Record Profits

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Shell Plc’s outgoing Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden was paid £9.7 million last year, a jump of 53 per cent, as the company made record profits from soaring fossil fuel prices, Bloomberg has reported.

The payout was the last for van Beurden, who has handed the reins to Wael Sawan. The new CEO will have a base salary of £1.4 million this year and target bonus of 125 per cent of that, according to Shell’s annual report.

“2022 has been a year full of challenge, but also of significant financial, operational and strategic achievements,” Shell said in the report.

“This level of financial performance undoubtedly reflects macro-environmental conditions, but is enabled by disciplined operational delivery and the ongoing work to create a resilient and profitable portfolio,” it added.

Shell’s executives are sharing in the benefits of the boom in oil and gas profits that they gave to their shareholders last year. Rank and file employees also saw a jump last year, with the vast majority getting a special 8 per cent bonus last year.