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Helix Energy Solutions Group Executive Compensation (FY25)

HLX · Executive and director compensation, fiscal 2023 to 2025
Chief executive, fiscal 2025
◇
Owen Kratz
Latest say-on-pay support
=
May 13, 2026
Chief executive pay ratio
◇
To the median employee
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Data as of November 4, 2026Latest filing (8-K): May 13, 2026
14 filings cited on this page
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212 figures on this page: 201 cited to the filing that reported them, 11 calculated from figures it prints. See the citations
What changed from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2025
The figures that moved, and by how much. Analysis of these figures is part of the Velarion platform.
Chief executive total compensation — Owen Kratz: $5,675,840 → $5,067,269 (10.7% lower)
Say-on-pay support: 93.4% → 94.6% (1.2 points higher)
CEO pay ratio: 59:1 → 57:1 (3.4% lower)

Frequently asked questions

Answers drawn from the data on this page.
Who is Helix Energy Solutions Group's chief executive and what were they paid?
Owen Kratz, President and Chief Executive Officer, received $5,067,269 in total compensation for fiscal 2025. Compared with the $5,675,840 reported for fiscal 2024, Kratz's total was 10.7% lower.
What was Helix Energy Solutions Group's say-on-pay result?
For fiscal 2025, shareholders backed the say-on-pay proposal with 94.6% of votes cast for or against in favor at the meeting held May 13, 2026.
Which companies are in Helix Energy Solutions Group's peer group?
Companies named in the disclosed peer group include Archrock, Inc., Core Laboratories Inc., Expro Group Holdings N.V., Forum Energy Technologies, Inc. and Helmerich & Payne, Inc., among others. The Performance Peer Group includes Nabors Industries Ltd., NOV Inc., Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc., Select Water Solutions, Inc. and Weatherford International plc.
What is Helix Energy Solutions Group's chief executive pay ratio?
For fiscal 2025, the company reported a chief executive pay ratio of 57:1, against median employee compensation of $88,825.

Executive compensation

Every element reported for each named executive officer, by fiscal year.
Fiscal 2023
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Owen Kratz
President and Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Scotty Sparks
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
◇—◇—◇——◇
Erik Staffeldt
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Ken Neikirk
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2024
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Owen Kratz
President and Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Scotty Sparks
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
◇—◇—◇——◇
Erik Staffeldt
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Ken Neikirk
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2025
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Owen Kratz
President and Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Erik Staffeldt
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Scotty Sparks
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
◇—◇—◇——◇
Ken Neikirk
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero. A negative change in pension value is shown but, as the company reports it, not included in the total.

Equity awards granted

Individual awards as disclosed: type, date, unit counts at each level, and grant date value.
Fiscal 2025
OfficerAwardGrant dateThreshold unitsTarget unitsUnits grantedMaximum unitsExercise priceGrant date fair value
Erik StaffeldtPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Erik StaffeldtRSU◇——◇——◇
Ken NeikirkPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Ken NeikirkRSU◇——◇——◇
Owen KratzPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Owen KratzRSU◇——◇——◇
Scotty SparksPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Scotty SparksRSU◇——◇——◇
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero. Threshold, target and maximum apply only to performance awards and are never shown for time-based or option awards.

Outstanding awards

Awards still held at fiscal year end.
As disclosed at fiscal 2025 year end
OfficerAwardUnvested unitsMarket value of unvested unitsExercise priceExpires
KratzPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
SparksPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
StaffeldtPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
NeikirkPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero.

Director compensation

What each non-employee director was paid.
Fiscal 2025
DirectorFees earned in cashStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
William L. Transier
Board chair
◇◇————◇
John V. Lovoi
◇◇————◇
Amy H. Nelson
◇◇————◇
T. Mitch Little
◇◇————◇
Paula Harris
◇◇————◇
Diana Glassman
◇◇————◇
Owen Kratz served on the board in fiscal 2025 and received no compensation for board service. Executive directors are typically paid through their executive roles, shown above.
Earlier years are included in the PDF.
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero.

Director fee schedule

The standing retainers and premiums the board pays, as published.
Board cash retainer◇
Board equity retainer◇
Total board retainer◇
Board chair premium◇
Audit committee chair◇
Audit committee member◇
Compensation committee chair◇
Compensation committee member◇
Nominating and governance chair◇
Nominating and governance member◇
Equity is delivered as Restricted Stock.

Disclosed peer group

The companies this board named as its compensation comparison group. The list is disclosure; the comparison is analysis.
Fiscal 2025
  • Archrock, Inc. AROC
  • Core Laboratories Inc. CLB
  • Expro Group Holdings N.V. XPRO
  • Forum Energy Technologies, Inc. FET
  • Helmerich & Payne, Inc. HP
  • Newpark Resources, Inc. NR
  • Oceaneering International, Inc. OII
  • Oil States International, Inc. OIS
  • ProPetro Holding Corp. PUMP
  • RPC, Inc. RES
  • TETRA Technologies, Inc. TTI
  • Transocean Ltd. RIG
Performance Peer Group
  • Nabors Industries Ltd. NBR
  • NOV Inc. NOV
  • Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. PTEN
  • Select Water Solutions, Inc. WTTR
  • Weatherford International plc WFRD

Say-on-pay history

Shareholder support for the compensation program, by year.
YearMeetingSupportVotes forVotes againstAbstentions
2025May 13, 2026=◇◇◇
2024May 14, 2025=◇◇◇
2023May 15, 2024=◇◇◇
2022May 17, 2023=◇◇◇
2021May 18, 2022=◇◇◇
2020May 19, 2021=◇◇◇
2019May 20, 2020=◇◇◇
2018May 15, 2019=◇◇◇
2017May 10, 2018=◇◇◇
2016May 11, 2017=◇◇◇
2015May 12, 2016=◇◇◇

Chief executive pay ratio

As calculated and reported by the company.
Ratio
◇
Median employee compensation
◇
Chief executive total compensation
◇

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Sample answer — “What is the CEO’s total compensation?”
- Owen Kratz (President and Chief Executive Officer), FY2025 total compensation $5,067,269 (base salary $800,000) [exec_comp, SEC accession 0001140361-26-012501, filed 2026-04-01]

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What this page does not include

Everything above is a fact Helix Energy Solutions Group disclosed, and it is free. Everything below is our analysis of those facts, and it is not.
Peer benchmarking
Where Helix Energy Solutions Group sits against its disclosed peers — percentile position by role and by pay element, and the ranking behind it. The disclosed peer group is free; comparisons across it are part of the Velarion platform.
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Committee composition, independence, director pay positioning, and the governance provisions read together rather than listed.
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Realizable pay
What the awards above are actually worth today against what they were valued at on grant, and what the gap says about the pay-for-performance link.
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Citations

Every figure on this page is cited to the document that reported it. Select any figure to see its citation.
212 figures on this page: 201 cited to the filing that reported them, 11 calculated from figures it prints.
201 cited to the filing
11 calculated from the filing

Documents cited

  1. 0000866829-26-000017
  2. 0001140361-26-012501
    2025 Director Compensation Table · Director Compensation · Grant of Plan-Based Awards · Outstanding Equity Awards as of December 31, 2025 · and 1 more section
  3. 0000866829-25-000012
  4. 0001140361-25-011655
    Summary Compensation Table
  5. 0000866829-24-000022
  6. 0001140361-24-017449
    Summary Compensation Table
  7. 0000866829-23-000019
  8. 0000866829-22-000012
  9. 0000866829-21-000013
  10. 0000866829-20-000021
  11. 0000866829-19-000020
  12. 0000866829-18-000013
  13. 0000866829-17-000015
  14. 0000866829-16-000071
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Velarion, “Helix Energy Solutions Group executive compensation, FY2023–FY2025.” https://intel.velarion.ai/comp/HLX (accessed 2026).
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The Helix Energy Solutions Group brief, $500

Positioning against its disclosed peers, the governance read, incentive design, and the CD&A alignment analysis; the full peer table; a committee-ready PDF.
From $500 for the board report; $900 for both.
Get the executive briefGet the board briefNo account needed.
14 filings cited on this page
Method: intel.velarion.ai/methodology
A report that fails to generate is refunded in full
Published by Velarion Company Intelligence
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Peers Helix Energy Solutions Group discloses

The companies named in HLX's own disclosed peer group.

Archrock, Inc.Core Laboratories Inc.Expro Group Holdings N.V.Forum Energy Technologies, Inc.Helmerich & Payne, Inc.Oceaneering International, Inc.Oil States International, Inc.ProPetro Holding Corp.RPC, Inc.TETRA Technologies, Inc.Transocean Ltd.Nabors Industries Ltd.NOV Inc.Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc.Select Water Solutions, Inc.Weatherford International plc

Terms on this page

Say-on-Pay VoteCEO Pay RatioMedian Employee CompensationAll companies

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Cite this data
APA
Velarion Company Intelligence. (2026). Velarion database: executive and board compensation data (Version 2026Q3) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22283854
BibTeX
@misc{velarionData2026,
  author = {{Velarion Company Intelligence}},
  title = {Velarion database: executive and board compensation data},
  year = {2026},
  version = {2026Q3},
  doi = {10.5281/zenodo.22283854},
  publisher = {Zenodo},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22283854}
}
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