Tesoro CEO's Pay Fell 18.6 Percent In 2008

JOSHUA FREED

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The chief executive of oil refiner Tesoro Corp. saw his 2008 compensation fall 18.6 percent during a year when crude prices plummeted from all-time highs.

The San Antonio-based company paid Bruce A. Smith, its chairman, CEO and president, compensation valued at $8.8 million, according to an Associated Press analysis of a regulatory filing.

The pay included a salary of almost $1.3 million, up 8.2 percent from $1.2 million in 2007. He also collected stock and options valued at almost $6.9 million when they were granted on Jan. 30, 2008.

Additionally, Tesoro awarded Smith $658,137 in other compensation, most of it for dividends on restricted stock. The company said Smith repaid it for personal use of the company plane.

The company paid him no bonus in 2008, and his incentive plan compensation fell to zero from $1.6 million in 2007. The AP valued Smith's total 2007 pay at $10.8 million.

The AP formula is designed to isolate the value the company's board placed on the executive's total compensation package. 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.