Oil giant BP’s top two fatcats could rake in up to £18million this year as households battle to pay huge bills.
Chief executive Bernard Looney, 51, – who called BP a “cash machine” – could trouser as much as £11.7m.
And finance boss Murray Auchincloss, also 51, – who said in February it had “more cash than we know what to do with” – could net up to £6.3m in pay and perks.
The packages won’t be known until BP publishes its annual report next year.
But the payouts are partly down to BP’s financial performance, which has gone through the roof thanks to soaring oil and gas prices due to the war in Ukraine.
Those rocketing prices have triggered sky-high energy bills and fuel prices.
BP is today expected to unveil its biggest quarterly profits in more than a decade, of £5.6billion which is up from £5billion in the first three months of the year and more than double the £2.3billion a year ago.
Luke Hildyard, director of the High Pay Centre, said: “Potential pay packages accruing at the energy giants are neither a reward nor an incentive for good leadership but a windfall for being in the right place at the right time.
"Boards should not underestimate how inflammatory executive excess could be when so many people are struggling.”
BP rival Shell last week revealed quarterly profits more than doubled to £9.4bn.
British Gas owner Centrica announced it raked in over £1.3bn profit in the first half of this year, up five-fold on last year.
BP said execs’ pay is based on performance on safety, emission reduction, operational reliability plus past performance.
