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BG has poached Helge Lund, the boss of Norway’s state oil group, to be its next chief executive, offering a £12m “golden hello” and the possibility of annual earnings of £13.5m if he hits all his targets.
Britain’s third largest exploration and production business behind Shell and BP has been desperate to find a major figure to lead the business after a couple of turbulent years and the exit in March of its former leader Chris Finlayson.
51-year-old Lund has had a stellar 10-year career at the top of Statoil in Norway, transforming it from a local operator into an important global force, active in areas such as the Gulf of Mexico and Russian Arctic.
There will be speculation that Lund could lead cash-rich BG into similar new geographical areas either through the acquisition of drilling licenses or companies.
Lund had been expected to move into Oslo politics but he has been lured to BG with a generous pay package that is likely to be worth around seven times what he was paid – even if he fails to meet all his incentive targets. Part of his package is nearly half a million pounds for “relocation” and a £3m buyout of shares he was owed at Statoil.
BG justified the remuneration, which is made up of BG shares, salary, bonus, pension and long-term incentive awards – saying it was “competitive in the international oil and gas industry”.
Andrew Gould, chairman of BG, said: “Helge’s track record speaks for itself. He has built a world-class exploration and production portfolio at Statoil, and the company is now widely admired for its technical expertise, financial performance and strong, values-based culture.”
“Helge is ideally suited to lead BG Group in the next phase of its growth, and to accelerate the creation and delivery of value for our shareholders, while delivering the group’s business plans.”
Lund said he was looking forward to the challenge: “BG Group is a company with a strong set of assets and opportunities. I look forward to joining this organisation and working with BG’s people to develop the company’s full potential.”
BG was originally part of the state-owned British Gas but was privatised and hived off from other arms of the business now operating at Centrica and British Gas.
