Gazprom profits double on higher European gas sales
Record sales in Europe helped Russian energy giant Gazprom double its profits last year, it said today.
The company’s profits reached nearly 1.5 trillion roubles (£17.5bn) in 2018.
Read more: Plexus shares hit oil as licensee signs deal with Gazprom
The big profits were helped as its exports to Europe and Turkey reached a record 202bn cubic metres, despite political tensions.
The European Commission has called on its member states to wean off Russian gas, and a row has erupted over the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline which links Russia directly to Germany via the Baltic Sea.
The company accounts for around five per cent of Russia’s $1.6tn annual gross domestic product (GDP).
Read more: MEPs blast Gazprom over Baltic pipeline
Gazprom’s sales to Europe account for around 70 per cent of its gas revenue.
The company has gone through a change in management where finance chief Andrey Kruglov, and head of exports Alexander Medvedev, left, while Putin-ally Alexei Miller stayed at the helm as chief executive.