KPMG and PwC pocketed $70m (£37m) for their work with Shell during its troubled last 12 months, according to the oil company's latest filing with the SEC.

Link: £1m bonus for Shell boss despite reserves fiasco

The basic audit fee of £22m, awarded by Shell, is one of the biggest ever paid out by a British company, up from £17m in 2003.

The two auditors - Netherlands-based branch of KMPG and PwC in the UK - received millions of pounds for other tasks, such as diligence assistance and 'special investigations'.

Shell was unable to provide a breakdown of the fees between the two firms.

During the last year Shell suffered its oil reserves scandals, overstating the number of barrels of oil it held in reserves by billions, which led to the resignation of several of its executive directors, including CFO Judy Boynton, and it underwent a board restructuring.

While rival oil giant BP paid out a mammoth £44.2m in fees to auditors last year, its basic audit fee was worth £10.9m, dwarfed by KPMG and PwC's figure for its work with Shell.