Shell’s van Beurden gets lucky. Harbour Energy doesn’t

Ben van Beurden left Shell late last year, his earnings massively boosted by his long-term incentive plan. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

The straightforward piece of news from the energy sector on Thursday was that Ben van Beurden departed Shell at the end of last year with his pockets full. The chief executive’s pay packet for 2022 rose 53% to a whisker under £10m, the most he’s scooped since his bumper £17.8m in 2018.

As then, the biggest boost to his winnings came via his long-term incentive scheme (LTIP), which in large part is a function of the share price, which itself is heavily influenced by the wholesale prices of oil and gas. Energy prices were already rising thanks to the industry’s underproduction during the pandemic, and then surged after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Result: already well-paid executives got even more than they could reasonably have expected.