WSJ: Investor Concerns Grow Over European Oil Chief Executives’ Pay

When Helge Lund takes the reins at British oil and natural-gas producer BG Group PLC, he will be getting paid more than seven times what he made at rival Statoil AS A.

Mr. Lund will also be earning significantly more than the chief executives at much bigger European energy companies Royal Dutch Shell PLC, BP PLC and Total SA . That is stoking investor concern that pay packages for European energy CEOs—which have long been lower than fellow chief executives in the U.S.—are rising too fast.

Mr. Lund, who starts at BG Group in March, will be paid about $16 million a year, including bonuses and share incentives, up from the $2.1 million he received at Norway’s Statoil last year. He also stands to earn additional, performance-linked shares of as much as $19.2 million over five years.
MORE