ExxonMobil Executives given salary increases on record breaking profits

Jul 29, 2023 ExxonMobil, News, Oil & Gas

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…millions paid out as bonus last year

Kaieteur News – In 2022, Executive Officers of ExxonMobil Corporation were paid increased salaries as a result of the record company earnings and strong stock price performance. The pay hike for the company’s top brass was augmented by a US-multimillion dollar bonus paid in 2022.

A recent report from the company indicated that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ExxonMobil Corporation (XOM), Darren Woods, along with Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Kathryn Mikells; Senior Vice President, Neil Chapman; Senior Vice President, Jack Williams, Jr. and President, ExxonMobil Product Solutions Company, Karen Mckee were all paid higher salaries in 2022 with large bonuses.

Woods for instance had his salary increased from US$ 1,615,000 in 2021 to US$ 1,703,000 in 2022. The Shareholders of the company have approved a further increase for the Executives in 2023, taking Woods’ monthly salary to US$1,875,000.

Meanwhile, the Exxon boss also had his bonus more than doubled in 2022, bagging some US$ 6,382,000 compared to US$3,142,000 in 2021.

The report explained, “In 2022, the Company delivered exceptional business results across all performance dimensions. The work done over the past few years has laid the foundation for these results. Where others pulled back in the face of uncertainty and a historic slow-down, the Company moved forward, continuing to invest to help meet demand and position the Company for long-term success. While today’s results clearly benefited from a favorable market, these actions coupled with active cost management, enabled the Company to realize the full benefit of current market conditions and deliver IOC-leading financial performance.”

While ExxonMobil Executives have been benefitting from the sky-rocketing profits as a result of favourable conditions on the oil market, largely driven by the war in Ukraine, the company has held back on its generosity when it comes to its other employees.

Last year it was reported that the company’s British employees took to the streets in protest against the ‘pitiful’ 2.5 percent increase.

Video footage from London based civil rights group, ‘ReelNews’ showed scores of oil workers protesting against the 2.5 percent pay increase. The video which aired on Sunday, November 27, 2022 presented interviews with workers who claimed that the company was making extraordinary profits but unwilling to speak with workers over a pay increase.

“A company making billions simply refusing to pay its workforce a decent wage,” one worker told the activist group.

Perhaps more importantly however is the company’s refusal to budge on the miniscule royalty or any of the fiscal provisions included in the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) signed with the Guyana government.

During a press conference earlier this year, Kaieteur News asked the President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge whether his company would be willing to renegotiate on a royalty higher than the current two percent for its future projects when he pointedly said this was simply not going to happen.

Routledge explained, “At the end of the day, the projects are not getting any easier, so yes we have line of sight to number six (sixth offshore project) and we see the costs on the world market inflating and for number seven we don’t have full line of sight yet. We have mentioned the discovery in the Fangtooth area where we have a very active exploration and appraisal in that area but it is a slightly bigger resource in that area and we don’t have the same surety that we can actually make it work but it would be premature to even think about that discussion.”

The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres and was recently described by Global Country Communications Manager, Kimberly Brasington as the “future” of the company.

According to her, “Guyana is the future for ExxonMobil.” She continued that the Guyana operations have been driving the company’s growth while at the same time developing country, as she lauded the partnership.

But even with Exxon’s operations already being driven by the resources discovered in Guyana, the company still believes it’s early days and there is still much more growth to come.

Brasington explained, “In 2016 we felt it was early days, and it was, and you look at how much growth we’ve had, but you’re right, to be honest it’s still early days because this industry is such a long-term perspective. There is still so much growth to come.”

Presently, ExxonMobil is producing oil offshore at the Liza One and Liza Two projects in the Stabroek Block. A third Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel has already arrived in the country and is expected to startup before the end of this year.

The company is producing an average of 400,000 barrels per day, well above the prescribed safety limits for each vessel. Exxon said the additional production activities were approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The third project will add an extra 220,000 barrels per day once successfully commissioned. ExxonMobil also has two other sanctioned projects, Yellowtail and Uaru that will startup in 2025 and late 2026, respectively, according to the company’s Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs). Meanwhile, a sixth project is pending approval at the EPA.

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• bonus, Guyana, increase, oil, renegotiate, salary

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