(Corrects figure in para 1)
* Advisors say Dudley's pay not in line with BP'sperformance
* Dudley's 2014 remuneration reached $12.7 million
By Ron Bousso
LONDON, April 1 (Reuters) - Two leading consultants haveurged BP shareholders to vote against Chief Executive BobDudley's $12.7 million 2014 pay, saying it was not in line withthe energy major's poor performance.
Glass Lewis and Pensions & Investment Research Consultants(PIRC), which advise institutional shareholders and issue proxyvote recommendations, both said Dudley's remuneration exceededthat of its European peers.
Investors have become increasingly vocal over executiveremuneration in recent years. Lawmakers have adopted new ruleson pay transparency and given shareholders more power to blockpayouts.
"The changes in CEO pay over the last five years are notconsidered in line with the Company's financial performance overthe same period," PIRC said.
Dudley's 2014 remuneration, which rose by more than 20percent from 2013, despite a fall in BP's profits due to fallingoil prices, will be put to vote at its annual general meeting onApril 16.
Glass Lewis said BP pays "more to its CEO than the medianCEO remuneration for a group of European Energy companies.Overall, the company performed worse than the peers."
BP executives received bonus payouts of 73 percent of thecompany's maximum limit, despite below-target performance onseveral metrics, according to Glass Lewis.
In one instance, Glass Lewis "strongly" questioned BP'spolicy of granting bonuses of up to 150 percent of salary basedon the absence of major safety and environmental incidents.
Dudley's 2014 salary and annual bonus fell to $2.95 millionfrom $4.21 million in 2013 but deferred bonuses and performanceshares' awards rose to $9.79 million from $5.96 million a yearearlier, according to a BP regulatory filing.
As a result, his total remuneration rose to $12.74 millionin 2014 from $10.17 million in 2013.
BP rejected the claims.
"Executive pay is closely linked to BP's performance and isdefined by the remuneration policy which was overwhelminglyapproved by our shareholders at last year's AGM," a spokesmansaid.
"Remuneration for 2014 was entirely in line with this policyand reflected the delivery of BP's strategic targets over thepast three years."
Glass Lewis also recommended voting against Dudley's 2013remuneration last year, but the vote won by more than two thirdsof shareholder support.
Another proxy advisor, Institutional Shareholder Services,recommended a vote in favour of the 2014 remuneration, saying BPhad addressed disclosure issues. (Editing by William Hardy)
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