Russia's state-run gas major Gazprom reported profit more than doubled in the first half of the year as prices jumped amid Europe's energy crisis

• Russia's Gazprom more than doubled net profit in the first half of 2022, the company said Tuesday.
• Gazprom reported $41.75 billion, or 2.5 trillion rubles, in profits, up from about 968 billion rubles in the first half of 2021.

Russia's state-run gas major Gazprom reported record net profit for the first half of the year on Tuesday, as elevated market prices continue to aid the Kremlin.

The company earned $41.75 billion, or 2.5 trillion rubles, from the start of 2022. That's up from about 968 billion rubles in the first half of 2021.

Gazprom is also considering paying investors a dividend after not doing so last year. Its board recommended paying 51.03 rubles per share, bringing the total payout to 1.208 trillion roubles.

Gazprom's record profits this year come as the West imposed sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. While they largely steered clear of directly banning gas sales, Europe has scrambled to look for alternatives to Russian supplies.

Meanwhile, Dutch TTF, the natural gas benchmark in Europe, is up more than 1,000% compared to a year ago as Gazprom has slashed deliveries and raised concerns about winter shortages.

Gazprom has been accused of weaponizing energy through multiple interruptions to gas flows via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which went offline once again on Wednesday. The company has cited maintenance needs for each shutoff event, and the pipeline's flows had been reduced to 20% of capacity prior to the latest shutoff.

The company will also completely shutter natural gas flows to French utility major Engie on Thursday over a payment disagreement.