Valero Energy CEO's Compensation Drops 50 Percent

By ERNEST SCHEYDER

NEW YORK (AP) — The chairman, president and chief executive of Valero Energy Corp. received compensation valued at $6.6 million in 2008, a 50 percent decrease from the previous year, according to an Associated Press calculation of figures disclosed in a regulatory filing.

The San Antonio, Texas-based company paid William R. Klesse $1.5 million in base salary, the same as 2007, and a bonus of $705,510, down 81 percent from a year earlier.

Valero, the nation's largest independent oil refiner, determines bonuses using a formula that includes targets for earnings per share. The company posted a loss in 2008 as high energy prices stunted demand for gasoline and other refined products.

That, in turn, pushed Klesse's bonus lower.

Valero's compensation committee had bypassed the formula — after a request from Klesse — and approved a higher bonus, citing an increase in quarterly dividend, debt repayment and other factors.

Klesse, 62, then asked that instead of the higher payout, a $50 bonus be paid to hourly and other employees participating in the company's bonus pool. The committee agreed.