Kremlin-owned energy giant Gazprom suffered a collapse in its North Sea profits last year as sanctions and the windfall tax battered the business.

Gazprom UK, which is owned by the Russian government, saw pre-tax profits fall from €45m (£37.6m) in 2022 to €4m last year, according to accounts filed at Companies House.

The company paid €1.7m in dividends to its Russian parent via a Dutch subsidiary, down from €41m the year prior.

Gazprom UK has been producing gas from the Sillimanite field, which is spread across British and Dutch waters, since 2020 under a joint venture with German company Wintershall.

However, it announced plans in March to sell down its stake, two years after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine sparked a wave of Western sanctions that have crippled the Kremlin’s exports.