Oil company’s five directors see pay shoot up by £2.3m

Executive pay at Tullow Oil shot up by nearly £2.3m (€2.8m) last year on the back of the Irish-founded exploration company’s second consecutive year of record financial and operational growth.

The London-headquartered company paid its five executive directors a combined £7.72m last year compared to just under £5.44m the previous year.

Aidan Heavey — Tullow’s chief executive — saw his total package go from £1.67m to over £2.36m. His basic salary rose from £679,450 to £815,340, while his cash bonus grew from £509,588 to £611,505. There was also a healthy rise in his pension contribution, while the value of his share bonus went from £273,138 to over £693,000.

Chief financial officer Ian Springett saw his remuneration go from £984,097 in 2010 to just over £1.4m last year; chief operating officer Paul McDade saw his jump from £931,924 to just under £1.32m; and exploration director, Angus McCoss’ package went from £925,330 to £1.32m.

Last year saw Tullow more than double its revenues from $1.09bn to $2.3bn, generate a 35% increase in production levels, and grow its profits from $179m to $1.07bn.

Meanwhile, Dragon Oil — the United Arab Emirates-based exploration company with a partial share listing in Dublin — said via its latest trading update that it remained on course to achieve 15% production growth this year.

The company grew production by 22% year-on-year during the first quarter of this year, to 70,600 barrels of oil per day, but this seemed to be below market expectations.

“While the first-quarter production outturn may be slightly disappointing relative to the exit rate for 2011, it needs to be viewed in the context of 30% annual growth in 2011 and the fact that guidance for the 2012-2015 period has been maintained,” said Gerry Hennigan of Goodbody Stockbrokers.