BP chief executive Bernard Looney earned £4.5 million total remuneration last year when the oil giant recorded bumper profits amid the gas price surge.

The company’s annual report shows Mr Looney earned bonuses and share awards worth around £3m last year on top of his annual salary of £1.3m.

The report covers a year in which BP was a big beneficiary of the recovery in global economic activity from the pandemic. This resulted in big increases in the prices BP received for the oil and gas it produces in areas such as the North Sea.

Prices have risen further following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Millions of consumers in the UK are facing steep increases in their energy bills after the regulator lifted the cap on prices to help energy suppliers cover their costs.

READ MORE: North Sea firms set to make bumper payouts to investors after generating huge cash surpluses 

Shell revealed last week that its chief executive Ben van Beurden’s  total remuneration rose to  €7.4m (£6.3m) last year, up around 28 per cent, from €5.8m in the preceding year.

Mr Looney became chief executive of BP in February 2020. He earned £1.7m total remuneration in the 11 months he spent on the company’s board in that year.

BP’s profits hit an eight-year high of $12.8 billion (£9.5bn) in 2021. It lost $5.7bn in 2020 amid the fallout from the pandemic.

Mr Looney was paid £0.2m in lieu of retirement benefits last year.