Typical Worker's Pay Nears $200,000 at Oil Refiner
April 24 2019 - 7:29AM
Dow Jones News
By Patrick Thomas
It was a fruitful year for the rank and file at oil-and-gas
companies, from Exxon Mobil Corp. to Phillips 66.
Oil and gas drillers and refiners had some of the highest-paid
median workers in the energy and utility sectors in 2018, according
to The Wall Street Journal analysis of annual pay disclosures by
hundreds of big U.S. companies.
Houston-based Phillips 66 paid its median worker $196,407, the
highest of any company in the sector. Phillips was followed by
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. at $183,445. Oil giant Exxon Mobil, which
has roughly 72,600 employees, according to its latest proxy, had
the third-highest median worker pay with $171,375.
Phillips 66 and Anadarko both boosted their 2018 median pay by
about 15% in 2018 compared with 2017. Exxon raised its median pay
about 6%. Oil-and-gas companies typically pay their workers better
than many other sectors because they have fewer low-paid retail
jobs and must compete in a tight labor market driven in part by the
shale-oil boom.
Phillips 66 and Exxon declined to comment beyond their proxy
statements. Anadarko Petroleum didn't respond to requests for
comment.
Utility companies, such as Xcel Energy Inc. and American
Electric Power Co., were closer to the typical pay for the energy
and utility sector's median of about $117,000, the highest median
of any sector in the S&P 500. An American Electric Power
spokeswoman said its compensation plan takes into account employee
performance and that the company compares its pay levels to its
peers. Xcel Energy didn't respond to requests for comment.
The lowest-paid median employee in the energy sector worked at
Marathon Petroleum Corp., earning $27,703. Unlike other oil and gas
producers, Marathon operates roughly 3,900 Speedway convenience
stores with about 40,000 employees, most of whom are part-time and
work lower-wage jobs, according to Marathon's latest proxy
filing.
Without Speedway, Marathon's median worker pay is $167,607,
according to its proxy filing. The company claims in its filing
that it is the only domestic downstream refining company with a
substantial retail presence.
The second- and third-lowest median worker pays were at energy
equipment and services companies National Oilwell Varco Inc., at
$51,917, and TechnipFMC PLC, at $59,634. In its latest proxy
filing, TechnipFMC said only about 17% of its employees are based
in the U.S. Service and equipment companies typically had larger
manufacturing workforces and paid less than companies that extract
oil and gas.
TechnipFMC and National Oilwell Varco both declined to comment
beyond their proxy statements.
Most publicly traded firms are disclosing their median employee
pay for a second straight year, along with compensation for top
executives. Firms are asked to include part-time and temporary
workers, but not contractors, and have the option of giving annual
pay for some midyear hires. Companies may exclude up to 5% of their
global workforce, but only non-U.S. workers, and may use sampling
techniques to identify the median employee.
The Journal analysis, which includes more than 1,300 companies,
combined the energy and utility sectors as defined by S&P
Global. Those sectors include industry groups encompassing oil, gas
and consumable fuels, electric utilities, multi-utilities, and
energy equipment and services.
Check out this interactive link for the full ranking of
companies or to search for a specific company or industry.
Write to Patrick Thomas at Patrick.Thomas@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 24, 2019 07:14 ET (11:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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