Drilling For Dollars

It may not make most people’s list of dream jobs, but joining the board of directors of El Segundo-based Unocal Corp. can be a nice gig.

A study by an executive search firm that specializes in the oil industry found that Unocal’s directors, at nearly $64,000 a year, are among the best paid in the industry. But energy company directors in general made less than directors from other industries.

Overall, compared with the previous year, directors at 65 leading diversified energy companies got an average raise of 8% in 1996--well above the rate of inflation--and were more likely to be female.

Average 1996 total cash compensation hit $40,760, based on a study of 1997 proxy statements by Spencer Stuart Executive Search Consultants. This compares with the $58,207 average director compensation for 100 national companies in a variety of industries that are part of a broader director survey conducted by Spencer Stuart.

In the latest energy company survey, 46% of the companies had at least one woman director (Unocal included), up from 43% in 1995. That’s far below the 99% of companies with female directors in the broader industry survey.

The best-paying energy companies are: Amerada Hess Corp. of New York, $94,778; Tesoro Petroleum Corp. of San Antonio, Texas, $64,717; and Unocal, at $63,875. Westwood- based Occidental Petroleum Corp. paid its directors $38,250, the survey said. The compensation totals include annual retainers and meeting fees, but don’t calculate the value of stock or options that directors receive.

(Los Angeles-based Atlantic Richfield Co., which wasn’t included in the survey, paid its directors in 1996 an annual retainer fee of $40,000 [now $52,000], plus $1,000 for each board meeting, of which there were eight, according to the company’s proxy statement.)

*

Nancy Rivera Brooks can be reached via e-mail at nancy.rivera.brooks@latimes.com or by fax at (213) 237-7837.