Shareholders vote against BP boss's pay

BP shareholders have voted against the proposed £13.8m pay award for chief executive Bob Dudley after a year of huge losses, with the oil giant pledging to consult with major shareholders and make a new proposal.

At the FTSE 100 group's annual general meeting, just 40.89% of investors approved Dudley's remuneration package.

Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg had earlier said that while investors the board had spoken to recognised the executive board's operational achievements they wanted a "change in the way we should approach this in the future".

"We hear you," Svanberg said. "We will sit down with our largest shareholders to make sure we understand their concerns and return to seek your support for a renewed policy.”

The Swede stressed that executive performance was judged "not on the price of oil or bottom line profit but on measures that are clearly within management’s control", which the board felt had been "outstanding" last year.

Svanberg also caused some consternation about the sanctity of Shell's dividend, admitting changes would need to be made if oil prices remain low.

"We know that the dividend is important to you, our shareholders. Our goal is to maintain the dividend but at the same time we must secure the future by investing wisely," he said.

"Be assured that we keep this balance under regular review. Should the oil price remain lower, longer than expected, we will need to revisit our financial framework."