Shell chief executive Peter Voser earned more than £10m last year in pay and bonuses at a time of near-record oil prices and in a year when the firm was responsible for 207 oil spills – considerably more than the year before.

The remuneration, made up of salary, bonuses and long-term incentive schemes, was more than double the figure for 2010 but the company said it was justified by Shell's strong operating and share-price performance. The oil firm reported global annual earnings of $28.6bn (£18bn) in 2011 – or more than £2m an hour – a 54% increase on the previous year.

The Anglo-Dutch group has cashed in on surging oil prices – which were more than $30 a barrel higher in 2011 than in 2010 – and booming demand for gas. It makes most of its money outside Britain and claims to generate barely 1p a litre profit from petrol sales.

Voser's £10.4m payout is composed of £4.52m in annual salary and bonus, with the balance from long-term incentive schemes. A spokeswoman said the payout "is a jump, but it's a reflection of a number of different factors and includes a payout from a share scheme that has been running for three years".

But she said the remuneration policy had not changed and she could not rule out another bumper payout next year.

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