Campaigners at Global Witness have labelled BP CEO Murray Auchincloss’ 2024 £5.4 million ($6.9 million) pay packet ‘obscene’, following condemnation last week over the firm’s net zero u-turn.
The announcement comes amid rising UK energy costs – with average bills forecast to be around £750 higher than they were pre-energy crisis – and the BP boss declaring a pivot away from renewables, investment in which is key to lowering bills.
Global Witness’ analysis today highlights the stark contrast between the BP boss’ pay and the costs facing the average UK household, with their findings showing:
- Auchincloss’ pay could pay for the energy bills of more than 3000 UK households
- It would take the average UK worker 143 years to earn the same pay check as BP’s CEO.
Alice Harrison, Fossil Fuels Campaign Leader at Global Witness, said:
“While households worry about their energy bills amidst a soaring cost of living crisis, BP’s boss is lining his pockets with a fat-cat paycheck. People have every right to be furious.
“It's obscene that climate-wrecking oil firms continue to gouge the market for billions in profit and then hand millions to their executives off the back of our misery.
“Households shouldn’t be made to bear the cost of never-ending bill increases. Governments should instead make some of the wealthiest and most destructive corporations on the planet – big oil firms like BP – pay their fair share in tax.”
Global Witness say BP has raked in £34 billion ($44 billion) in profit since the start of the energy crisis, which followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine three years ago.
While people worldwide have struggled with higher energy bills and been pushed into poverty, big oil firms have profited from rising prices.
The world’s five largest listed oil companies' profits jumped by a huge 125% in the year Russia invaded Ukraine (from $87 billion in 2021 to $195 billion in 2022) leading to politicians and anti-poverty campaigners condemning oil firms’ war profiteering.
Methodology
- Average UK energy bills drawn from Cornwall Insight estimates for the year starting April 2. 2024, as reported by the BBC.
- Average UK salaries drawn from Office of National Statistics.
- Auchincloss’ compensation can be found in BP’s 2025 annual report