Sunday 16 October 2016 6:25 pm

Boss of oil major BP set for salary boost from post-referendum fall in sterling

The boss of British oil major BP could be set to reap an uplift in his salary of almost £3m if he is paid a similar amount to his 2015 annual paycheck.

Last year, American-born chief executive Bob Dudley, who is paid in dollars, raked in $19.6m. At the year-end exchange rate of $1.48 to £1, this meant he took home around £13.2m.

Now, because of the fall in the value of sterling since the EU referendum in June, if Dudley is paid the same amount he will gain a £3m uplift from the new currency rates and his salary will be worth a little over £16m.

This sum is comprised of pension contributions of around $6.5m, the Daily Mail reported, but even excluding these his pay and bonuses last year added up to $13m, or £8.8m. In April, BP shareholders voted to reject a 20 per cent pay rise in Dudley's salary, though the vote was only advisory.

In the same year, BP's losses amounted to $5.2bn, dragged down in part by the Deepwater Horizon bill and a hit from lower oil prices.

Last week, Dudley said the global market is "pretty much in balance", despite widespread industry expectations that it will remain oversupplied well into next year.