Royal Dutch Shell boss handed near-£800,000 pay rise

The boss of Royal Dutch Shell has pocketed a near-£800,000 pay rise, lifting his annual package close to £8 million after resurgent oil prices boosted group profits.

Chief executive Ben Van Beurden saw his total pay packet climb 11% to £7.811 million last year, with his annual bonus jumping by a quarter to £2.6 million.

It followed a "strong" annual performance from the oil giant, which more than tripled bottom line profits to £8.5 billion in response to Brent crude's temporary rise beyond 70 US dollars a barrel for the first time in three years.

Gerard Kleisterlee, chair of Shell's remuneration committee, said Mr Van Beurden had "delivered on a number of fronts" and had given "strong leadership" around its new energy strategy.

The CEO's annual salary was also marginally higher at £1.32 million, up from £1.29 million in 2016.

In Shell's annual report, Mr Van Beurden said higher oil prices and a "relentless focus on performance" had increased cash flow.

He added: "We also further reshaped and refined our portfolio through our divestment programme.

"These factors helped to reduce debt and strengthen our financial framework.

"We continue to closely control costs and investment levels, working to improve our capital efficiency while improving the quality of our portfolio through asset sales and new projects."

The group's earnings were also bolstered by higher production levels from new oil fields, which offset declines from existing fields as well as its mammoth asset-selling programme.

Shares in Royal Dutch Shell B were marginally ahead in morning trading on the London Stock Exchange, up 1p to 2,231p.