The oil company Shell has revealed plans to ramp up cost savings and cut spending, as it handed its chief executive an increase to his pay package which angered environmental campaigners.
The pay package for the energy company’s chief executive, Wael Sawan, rose by 8.5% last year, to £8.6m, according to its annual report, released on Tuesday. The payout was labelled “obscene” by green campaigners.
Separately, the company told investors before its capital market day event that it aimed to strip out a cumulative $5bn to $7bn (£3.9bn to £5.4bn) a year by the end of 2028.
The target was up from the previous aim for $2bn to $3bn by the end of 2025.
It will also lower its spending to $20bn to $22bn a year over the next three years.
In its plan, the company said it would spend 10% of its budget on lower carbon businesses by the end of the decade, having last year significantly watered down its climate pledges.
The company dropped a plan to reduce net carbon intensity by 45% by 2035 and instead said it would aims for a 100% reduction by 2050.
Sawan’s pay rose from £7.9m in 2023, because of increased bonus payments such as through its long-term incentive plan.
The increase came despite a fall in Shell’s profits last year – the oil major posted adjusted earnings of $23.7bn last year, down from $28.25bn in 2023.
Under Sawan’s leadership, Shell has been criticised for watering down its pledge to cut carbon emissions, and also cut hundreds of jobs at its low-carbon division.
Patrick Galey, the investigations lead at Global Witness, said: “After a year of uncharted climate extremes and huge energy bills, which are set to spike again in many countries this year, Wael Sawan’s obscene pay packet will feel like a slap in the face for millions.
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“It’s maddening to know that big oil bosses like Sawan are raking it in, as they double down on the oil and gas that’s fuelling climate devastation, and continue to profit from an energy crisis that’s leaving so many of us poorer.”
He added: “We shouldn’t have to witness another year of corporate greed at the expense of people and planet – it’s time governments held big oil firms like Shell to account. Instead of allowing oil giants to hand out billions to wealthy shareholders and shower their bosses with lavish paychecks, governments should be making them pay climate damages.”
The FTSE 100 company told shareholders it would aim to increase investor returns through share buy-backs and dividends payouts.
Shell also handed $8.7bn to its shareholders through dividends last year, and spent $13.9bn on share buy-backs. It is to stick with its goal of raising dividends by 4% a year.
