California Oil Driller That Sold No Crude Paid CEO $76 Million

The CEO of California oil driller Sable Offshore Corp. was awarded a $76 million pay package in 2025, making him one of the highest paid oil and gas industry leaders in the US even as his company sold no crude.

The bulk of Jim Flores’s compensation was from more than $69 million in stock awards, in addition to a $1.3 million salary and $3.9 million bonus, according to a Thursday filing to federal regulators. Flores earned $1.7 million in 2024 and received no stock awards.

That meant Houston-based Sable’s CEO was paid more than the leaders of the two ...