Exxon Mobil raises CEO, top executives base pay

(Reuters) -Exxon Mobil Corp is raising the annual base salaries of its top boss and other executives for next year, the largest U.S. oil company said on Monday.

Exxon Mobil’s compensation committee approved an increase in the annual salary of Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods to $1.88 million from $1.70 million this year, according to a filing.

Kathryn Mikells, who became the company’s chief financial officer in August last year, will receive a base pay of $1.22 million in 2023.

The company also raised the salaries of its senior vice presidents, effective Jan. 1, 2023.

Base salaries, however, represent less than 10% of total pay, with stock awards and bonuses making up a bigger share of what Exxon’s executives pocket every year.

The Houston-based oil major paid Woods a total compensation of $23.6 million in 2021 and $15.6 million in 2020.

The pay hikes come barely a month after the oil major posted record quarterly profits as sanctions on Russia sent crude and gas prices soaring to dizzying heights this year.

The oil industry’s windfall profits this year has attracted the attention of U.S. President Joe Biden, who has accused the sector of war profiteering and said Exxon was making “more money than God”.

Biden has repeatedly called on U.S. oil and gas companies to use their record profits to increase production and reduce pump prices for Americans.

(Reporting by Ruhi Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza, Anil D’Silva and Krishna Chandra Eluri)