Valero Energy CEO's Compensation Drops 50 Percent

Additionally, Valero award Klesse $138,494 in other compensation, including $25,073 in life insurance premiums, $1,128 for personal use of company aircraft, $5,070 for club membership fees, $94,117 for retirement plans and $239 for a home security system.

The drop in total compensation for Klesse was partly due to a 47 percent decrease in stock and option awards, to a total of $4.3 million. Those awards are now worth more than when they were issued last October because of an increase in Valero's stock price since then.

The Associated Press' calculations of total compensation include salary, bonus, performance-related incentives, perks, any above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year. They may vary from totals listed in the summary compensation table in the company's proxy filed with the SEC.

According to Valero's proxy filing, the compensation committee benchmarks its executive pay practices against a peer group of companies that includes BP PLC, Chevron Corp. and Tesoro Corp.

The committee also has established a guideline for Klesse to own shares having a value of five times his base salary in order to align his interests with those of shareholders.