BP boss Bob Dudley's pay rises 20% to $19.6m despite big annual loss

BP paid its boss Bob Dudley almost $20 million (£14.1 million) for 2015 despite the oil giant making one of its biggest ever annual losses.

Dudley, who has run BP since 2010, received a remuneration package worth $19.6 million for last year. That includes his base salary of $1.8 million and an annual cash bonus of $1.4 million, as well as investments into his pension and and share awards.

It was an increase of almost 20% on his 2014 payout of $16.4 million.

The figures were published in the British firm's annual report, which comes just over a month after BP revealed a $6.5 billion loss for 2015 and announced thousands more job cuts.

Like fellow oil companies, BP has been hit by plummeting oil prices, but has also had to deal with $55 billion in costs from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Its shares fell more than 13% over the course of last year.