London Evening Standard: Shell boss missed £2m payout

Steve Hawkes,

28 May 2004

IR Philip Watts missed out on almost £2m of lucrative stock options* and incentives in his final year at Shell.

But details of a pay-off for the former chairman are notably absent from the oil giant's mammoth annual report, published today after a 10-week delay.

A spokesman said severance deals for Watts, former exploration chief Walter van de Vijver and finance director Judy Boynton following Shell's reserves scandal were being thrashed out.

'It is still a matter of discussion between the boards and the individuals,' he said. 'Once final agreement has been reached, we will provide full disclosure.'

Watts' basic salary rose 13% to £843,021 last year, while his pension pot ballooned by £2.1m to more than £10m.

Shell withdrew 2003 bonuses for its directors earlier this year, but today's report reveals its underperforming share price meant they also missed out on 50% of a three-year stock option award.

This cost Watts up to £1.2m and his ousting in March means he also fails to qualify for £750,000 of long-term incentives. New chairman Jeroen van der Veer pocketed a 10% pay rise to £739,200 in 2003.

He said competitive results were key to restoring shareholder confidence after the reserves debacle, which has seen Shell slash its proven oil and gas bank by almost five billion barrels.

'It is vital to ensure that these problems cannot happen again,' said Van der Veer.

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