The boss of BP was awarded a bonus worth more than half a million pounds for 2011 today despite a turbulent year which saw a landmark deal to explore the Arctic sea collapse and production fall.

Bob Dudley, who was brought in to steer the company's recovery in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, was awarded an annual bonus of 850,000 US dollars (£540,000) for 2011, equivalent to 50% of his £1.1m salary. He did not receive a bonus in 2010.

The chief executive, who was eligible to receive up to 225% of his annual wage including long-term performance related awards, also vested performance-related shares worth 788,300 US dollars (£500,000).

The bonus comes despite Dudley coming under fire for his handling of a share-swap deal with Russian state-owned oil giant Rosneft, which fell through following a row with existing Russian partners TNK-BP.

However, the company returned to profit last year, increased its dividend payout for the first time since the Deepwater Horizon explosion and has seen a steady recovery in its share price.

Chief financial officer Byron Grote and chief executive of refining and marketing Iain Conn were awarded £453,000 and £396,000 respectively for hitting targets in their area of the business.

The executives were awarded bonuses against criteria including safety and risk management, rebuilding trust and restoring value.

The company's remuneration report said the underlying profits and total cash costs came in below targets, but all other criteria were met or exceeded.

The report also said that surveys suggested some recovery of trust and reputation in key markets as the year progressed.

Oil production at BP fell last year as it sold off billions of pounds of assets to cover the costs of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

BP reported annual replacement cost profits of 23.9 billion US dollars (£15.1 billion) in 2011, compared with a loss of 4.6 billion US dollars (£3.1 billion) the previous year. The report said this was around 90% of its target.

BP saw its shares rise sharply earlier this week after a £4.9 billion deal with 110,000 businesses and individuals over the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

The out-of-court settlement worth 7.9 billion US dollars was less than expected and a crucial step towards removing uncertainty over the business, analyst said.

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) is still bringing a federal negligence case against BP following the explosion on April 2010, which caused millions of barrels of oil to leak into the Gulf of Mexico and killed 11 workers.