By Liz Hampton
(Reuters) – The top executive for oilfield services firm Halliburton Co earned roughly $10 million more in 2020 than the prior year, despite pledges from the company to reduce executive pay as the coronavirus pandemic crushed the oil industry.
Jeff Miller earned a total of $22.3 million in 2020, versus $12.8 million the previous year. His compensation is 293 times that of the median compensation for his employees.
Halliburton last year pledged to cut executive pay as it laid off thousands of workers in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which sent oil prices plummeting and activity grinding to a halt.
Halliburton employed roughly 40,000 people worldwide at the end of 2020, down from 55,000 a year earlier, according to its latest annual filing.
While Miller’s base salary declined by $200,000 between 2019 and 2020, he received some $9.7 million in stock awards, versus $3.6 the prior year.
Halliburton did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lance Loeffler, Halliburton’s chief financial officer reported annual income of $3.8 million in 2020, versus $2 million the prior year. His base salary jumped from $650,000 to $709,000, and his total earnings were also bolstered by stock rewards.
(Reporting by Liz Hampton; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
