Big Oil lost big money last year and laid off thousands. Most oil CEOs got raises.

Oil company CEOs got a raise as their companies tanked
(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Last year was pretty brutal for oil companies, with the sharp drop in oil prices slashing about $200 billion in stock market value from the largest public energy firms. But most chief executives got a raise anyway, The Wall Street Journal notes, even if some of their total compensation packages shrank along with their company's share prices.

At Exxon Mobil, for example, chief executive Rex Tillerson's salary rose 6 percent, to $3 million, while his total pay package dropped 18 percent, to $27.3 million. At Chevron, CEO John Watson got a 3 percent raise but saw his total compensation drop 15 percent to $22 million, thanks to changes in his pension benefits. Anglo-Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Burden's pay fell 13 percent, to about $5.5 million, and his overall 2015 package dropped 81 percent, including pension modifications. But BP CEO Bob Dudley saw a 20 percent jump in pay last year, to $19.6 million, even as BP lost $5.2 billion.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.