Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden’s pay package dropped by 42% to $7 million in 2020, a year in which the coronavirus pandemic pushed the energy company to a historic dividend cut following a collapse in profits.

Ben van Beurden, Royal Dutch Shell CEO
Ben van Beurden

Van Beurden, who initially oversaw growth in Shell’s oil and gas output after taking office in 2014, is now leading the Anglo-Dutch company through a shift towards low-carbon energy in an effort to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The unprecedented hit to the energy sector last year due to the pandemic, which briefly knocked benchmark U.S. oil prices into negative territory, forced Shell to cut its dividend for the first time since World War Two.

As global demand for oil and gas plunged last year, Shell’s profit tumbled to a two-decade low while its shares hit their lowest since the 1990s.

Van Beurden’s total remuneration for 2020 was 5.8 million euros (US$6.93 million), compared with about 10 million euros the year before, the company disclosed in its annual report on March 11.

In 2019, Van Beurden’s remuneration had also dropped by 51%.

The oil major announced on March 11 that former BHP CEO Andrew Mackenzie would become its next chairman to succeed Charles Holliday, who steps down on May 18 after being in the role for six years.

Mackenzie will also likely lead the search in the coming years for a successor to van Beurden.

(US$1 = 0.8375 euros)

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