BP Share News (BP.)

By David Sheppard and Peg Mackey LONDON, March 6 (Reuters) - Oil and gas major BP Plc more than tripled Chief Executive Bob Dudley's pay last year,the firm's annual report showed on Thursday, with cash andperformance-related bonuses taking his total remuneration to$8.7 million. The payout came as the CEO works to right the course of BPfollowing the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill and streamline thebusiness, returning cash to shareholders. Dudley was awarded a cash bonus of $2.3 million and sharesworth $4.5 million in 2013, the report showed, on top of hisbase salary of $1.8 million. That $8.7 million total compareswith $2.6 million in 2012. "BP has made strong progress over the past three years underBob Dudley's leadership, particularly in areas such as safety,operations and building for the future through reservereplacement, and his remuneration reflects this," said a BPspokesman. "The great majority of his potential pay is directlydependent on BP's performance in areas essential both to thedelivery of the company's strategy and to the long-terminterests of its shareholders." Criteria for the performance-related scheme were set out in2010, when Dudley replaced Tony Hayward as CEO, and the sharesawarded to the BP chief are due to vest for the first time thisyear. Dudley would have been paid far more through theperformance scheme if BP's shareholder returns had been higher. The share price remains below the level it first reboundedto in 2011, as long-running lawsuits related to the Gulf ofMexico spill have sapped BP's performance, even as Dudley movesto reshape the company. Dudley's pay is still below some other CEO's at rival oiland gas majors. Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson was paid atotal of $40 million in 2012, according to the latest figuresavailable. Based on the current share price BP is valued at $90.4billion compared to Exxon's $405.3 billion marketcapitalisation.