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There has been a lot of attention (both from the media and investors) focused on whether E&P companies are using the right metrics in their annual incentive programs. E&P companies have been criticized for a heavy focus on production and…
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Going into 2015, annual incentive goal-setting was challenging for oil & gas companies, to say the least. E&P companies were wrestling with lowering production, where production growth is traditionally a cornerstone E&P bonus metric. Services and drilling companies were experiencing…
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Compensation is often more about the message than the money. BP’s recent shareholder vote offered some valuable lessons for other energy companies about sending the right messages to shareholders when commodity prices impact business results. On April 14th, nearly 60%…
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The current industry downturn is already impacting compensation programs and will likely also impact the upcoming Say on Pay season. Based on our research, the market decline will cause an increased number of energy companies to trip a key ISS…
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The 2014 proxy season is almost over for calendar year companies. Based on our analysis, ISS continues to play an influential role and the energy industry continues to be one of their favorite targets, but it’s getting more difficult to…
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Annual incentive metrics should be key drivers of long-term shareholder value. Most energy companies include this in their philosophy statements, and it sounds straightforward. But what are the drivers of long-term shareholder value? The answer to that question obviously varies…
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Recent headlines of Aubrey McClendon’s American Energy Partners LP receiving a $5 billion equity valuation and a flurry of energy IPOs in the last 12-24 months are reminders that change and growth can occur quickly, especially in the energy industry.…
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Each February, boards and management spend thousands of hours on their annual bonus programs. Energy companies in particular can struggle to evaluate annual performance in what is inherently a long-term business. Arguing over an incremental handful of bonus points can…
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Commodity prices can have a significant effect on share price and also on financial performance measures used by energy companies. This makes paying for performance at energy companies challenging because commodity price volatility can create misalignment between management efforts, management…
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Measuring long-term performance for companies in the energy industry is challenging because macro-economic factors, such as commodity prices, and company specific factors, such as particular asset portfolios, make it difficult to assess performance. A mix of absolute and relative measures…
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Energy boards and management have paid close attention to activist shareholders this proxy season, including current proxy battles and investor activism at Hess Corporation (Elliott Associates), SandRidge Energy (TPG-Axon Capital) and Nabors (Pamplona Capital). Each has included a discussion of…
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Most companies are getting ready to file their 2013 proxy statements and telling the story of their 2012 compensation. Effective proxies share a clear and compelling alignment between performance and pay. For most energy companies, however, compensation does not boil…
