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Noble Energy CEO Earns $11.6 Million In 2008

The Associated Press

HOUSTON (AP) — Charles Davidson, chief executive and president of oil and gas producer Noble Energy Inc., saw his total compensation rise 4.5 percent to $11.6 million, driven by boosts in his performance-based bonus and above-market earnings on deferred compensation, according to an Associated Press calculation of figures disclosed in a regulatory filing made Monday.

Davidson's pay package climbed from the $11.1 million he received in 2007, according to Noble Energy's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The bulk of his compensation increase came from a 15 percent bump in a performance-related bonus, which totaled $4.4 million in 2008, compared with $3.8 million in 2007. Davidson's above-market earnings on deferred compensation also rose in 2008 to $94,471, up 71 percent from $55,094 in 2007.

Davidson's salary remained flat for the year at just over $1 million. He also saw a slight uptick in his "other" compensation to $70,908, which includes mostly matching contributions of $47,700 related to his deferred compensation plan.

In addition, Davidson, 59, received stock options valued at $6.1 million when they were granted Feb. 1, 2008. These options are worth less today, as the company's share price has shed more than 21 percent since the options' grant date.

The Associated Press formula is designed to isolate the value the company's board placed on the executive's total compensation package during the past fiscal year. It includes salary, bonus, performance-related bonuses, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year.

The calculations don't include changes in the present value of pension benefits, and they sometimes differ from the totals companies list in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which reflect the size of the accounting charge taken for the executive's compensation in the previous fiscal year.

Davidson, Noble Energy's president and CEO since October 2000, was the company's highest-paid official among the five company executives listed in the report.

The company said Davidson's compensation was linked to company performance, namely Noble Energy's 2008 net income, cash flow, production replacement, exploration success, stockholder return and achievement of other projects and milestones.

For the full year, Noble earned $1.35 billion, or $7.58 per share, up from $944 million, or $5.45 per share, in 2007. Revenue rose to $3.9 billion from $3.27 billion a year earlier.

Noble Energy said in 2008 the company achieved record discretionary cash flow of $2.4 billion and made significant discoveries in West Africa, Israel and the deep water Gulf of Mexico.

In 2008 shares of Noble Energy plunged over 38 percent to close the year at $49.22 per share.