Royal Dutch/Shell's disgraced former chairman, Mr Phil Watts, will get a $1.8 million payoff, but the oil giant refused to rule out legal action against him.
Mr Watts will get the payment - equivalent to full pay up to his retirement due date of June 2005 - despite being sacked for his part in a scandal involving a massive overstatement of the Anglo-Dutch firm's oil and gas reserves.
Revelations earlier this year that Shell's oil and gas reserve bookings were over-optimistic by more than 20 per cent shocked investors and rattled the entire energy sector. Three top executives, including Mr Watts, lost their jobs.
A Shell spokesman said:. "We cannot speculate on the outcome and implications of external investigations," referring to investigations that are under way by regulators, including the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice.
Mr Watts' lawyer was not available for comment.
Shell said it had yet to decide on severance terms for another fired executive, exploration and production chief Mr Walter van de Vijver.