Shell's CEO pay reaches €24m

Ben van Beurden, the chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell, has become the best paid oil chief executive in the country.

On Thursday, the oil giant published its annual report showing its CEO was awarded a total remuneration worth €24.2m (£17.2m) last year.

The salary, which included a €10.7m pension contribution and a €3.3m annual bonus, placed Van Beurden among the top UK CEOs in terms of pay, just behind WPP’s chief Sir Marvin Sordell.

Late in January, the group said its full year earnings rose 13.7% to $19bn (£12.6bn) but van Beurden said a sharp decline in the price of crude, which has dropped 50% since June, meant Shell could not guarantee jobs in the North Sea.

In response to the slump in oil prices, the company said it plans to it now plans to spend $15bn less over the next three years on developments.

On Thursday, Shell shares closed up 1.71% to 1,969.02p