BP said the extra payments were justified because Byron Grote and Iain Conn had hit their divisional targets

BP, the company at the centre of the worst oil spill in US history, has awarded bonuses to two of its senior directors, according to its annual report.

Byron Grote, the finance director, and Iain Conn, the head of refining, have both received payouts of more than £100,000 on top of their regular salaries although those bonuses are dramatically lower than in 2009.

The payments have been made even though the share price of the oil group has continued to suffer from the Deepwater Horizon accident, in which 11 rig workers died and beaches across the US southern states were polluted.

BP said the extra payments were justified because Grote and Conn had hit their divisional targets. The company pointed out that neither the current chief executive, Bob Dudley, nor his predecessor, Tony Hayward, received any discretionary awards – including shares under the long-term remuneration plan running between 2008 and 2010.

Hayward and production boss Andy Inglis have left the company since the blowout in the Gulf of Mexico last April. The company has been blamed for mistakes made during the handling of the Macondo well by its own investigation and a presidential probe, but its well contractor Halliburton and rig operator Transocean have also come in for criticism.

Salaries for board members at BP have not increased markedly from 2009 to 2010 but Dudley's basic pay went up to $1.175m from $750,000 in 2009 as he took on the top job.