Saipem ousted from Turkish Stream

Italian oil services contractor Saipem will no longer carry out its $2.7 billion contract to lay the natural gas pipeline under the Black Sea for the Turkish Stream project.

According to Bloomberg, Russian natural gas company Gazprom cancelled Saipem’s contract after facing a number of undisclosed challenges. This decision comes the week after Russia gave the Italian contractor permission to anchor its pipelaying vessel near Anapa.

The Turkish Stream project will consist of four lines, each with the capacity to carry 15.75 billion bcm (556 bcf) per year. Once completed, the Turkish Stream will transport Russia gas to Europe and bypass Ukraine as a transit country.

The contract was originally signed under the South Stream pipeline before being scrapped after Russia’s relations with the European Union hit a low point over the crisis in Ukraine. Completion of the contract would have added about $94 million to the Saipem’s earnings before interest and taxes in 2015.

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