BP chief Bob Dudley's pay rises to £14m despite 2015 record loss

BP suffered an annual loss of $5.2bn last year compared to the $8.1bn profit the oil major made in 2014, forcing the firm to slash thousands of jobs

Like fellow oil companies, BP has been hit by plummeting oil prices, but has also had to deal with $55 billion in costs from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (Getty)

Bob Dudley, BP chief executive, got paid nearly £14 million in 2015 despite the oil giant making one of its biggest annual losses in 20 years.

The chief executive, who has run BP since 2010, received a remuneration package worth $19.6 million for last year an increase of almost 20 per cent on his 2014 payout of $16.4 million.

That includes his base salary of $1.8 million and an annual cash bonus of $1.4 million, as well as investments into his pension and and share awards.

The figures were published in the British firm's annual report, which comes just over a month after BP revealed a $6.5 billion loss for 2015 and announced thousands more job cuts.

Like fellow oil companies, BP has been hit by plummeting oil prices, but has also had to deal with $55 billion in costs from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Dudley's pay has become a regular point of tension during the firm's annual shareholder meetings, with some investors questioning the size of the package during tough tim (Reuters)

Its shares fell more than 13 per cent over the course of last year.

Shareholders have in the past expressed concerns about Dudley's pay packet, but BP has repeatedly argued it needs to remain competitive and that its remuneration is lower than of most US companies.

In its annual report, board member Ann Dowling, chair of BP's remuneration committee, said the company delivered strong operating and safety performances throughout 2015.

“In an ever more challenging world BP executives performed strongly in 2015 in managing the things they could control and for which they were accountable,” Dowling said in the report.

The company will face investors at its annual general meeting next month.

Additional reporting by Reuters