NEW BP chief executive Bernard Looney earned £1.7 million for his work in the role last year.

Mr Looney succeeded Bob Dudley as chief executive of the oil giant in February last year after four years running the key exploration and production division.

BP’s annual report, which was published yesterday, shows Mr Looney earned £1.4m in total in respect of salary, benefits and pension entitlement.

He received performance shares worth £0.35m after awards made in previous years vested. The group said it did not pay executive directors bonuses for last year as the relevant plan was unaffordable.

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BP made a $5.7 billion (£4.2bn) underlying loss last year, compared to a $10bn profit in 2019, as it felt the impact of the market turmoil triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns.

Mr Looney has set out to reinvent BP as a broad-based energy company that can play an important role in the fight against climate change. The group will increase investment in renewables but remain active in core oil and gas regions, which it has said include the North Sea.

The report states: “The board has been gratified by the immediacy of Bernard Looney’s impact in leading the organisation, and in refreshing bp’s purpose, strategy and organisation.

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“We propose to recognize his efforts with an increase of 2.75% salary … This increase is significantly lower than the increase that our UK professional workforce will receive on their pay review date in 2021.”

Mr Looney’s salary will increase to £1,335,750, from £1,300,000 following BP’s general meeting in May.