Top brass reach for gold ring

EnCana’s Gwyn Morgan highest paid Canadian oil patch exec in 2002

Gary Park

Petroleum News Calgary Correspondent

Climbing share prices in 2002 didn’t go unrewarded among the top Canadian oil patch executives.

The top rung on the compensation ladder was a toss up between EnCana Corp.’s Gwyn Morgan and Suncor Energy Inc.’s Rick George.

Morgan, who guided the newly created EnCana through its first year, raked in about C$10 million (US$6.8 million), including a salary of C$1.18 million, making him the highest paid CEO in the industry.

His cash compensation included a bonus of C$2.5 million, with another C$5.03 million from the issue of 101,500 deferred share units, which can’t be sold until he leaves the company. However, he pocketed C$1.27 million in net proceeds from exercising 47,000 options in Alberta Energy Co., which merged with PanCanadian Energy Corp.

George was paid a C$10.9 million bonus in recognition of his leadership in tripling the value of Suncor shares over five years, along with boosting production from the company’s oil sands operation.

Of their peers, Hal Kvisle of TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. had an 80 percent raise to C$2.9 million; Petro-Canada’s Ron Brenneman saw his pay packet boosted by 38 percent to C$2.3 million; Talisman Energy Inc.’s Jim Buckee collected a 17 percent raise to C$1.7 million and exercised options for proceeds of C$3.4 million; and Imperial Oil Ltd.’s Tim Hearn got a 43 percent hike in base salary and bonus to C$1.11 million.