Generous Gesture: $75,000 Bonuses Are Headed Into the Pockets of Hilcorp Energy Workers

Oil driller Hilcorp Energy Co. is lavishing $75,000 bonuses on employees as reward for reaching multi-year expansion and production goals.

Workers will receive another $25,000 to donate to charities of their choice, closely held Hilcorp said in a statement on Friday. The explorer controlled by billionaire Jeffrey Hildebrand employs about 3,000 people from Texas to Alaska and plans to pro-rate the payouts for anyone who’s been with the company less than six years.

The reward comes just days after shale driller Devon Energy Corp. announced $10,000 bonuses amid a rebound in the industry’s fortunes following devastating back-to-back oil busts and a pandemic-driven collapse in energy demand.

Hilcorp veterans are no strangers to big rewards: employees received $100,000 bonuses in 2015 and a prior incentive program gave them the choice of a new car or cash.