Gazprom cancels South Stream contract with Italy’s Saipem

MOSCOW

CEO of Russian gas giant Gazprom, Alexei Miller. AFP Photo

Russia’s Gazprom has canceled a contract with Italian oil and gas contractor Saipem to build the first line of “South Stream,” a project to build a gas pipeline beneath the Black Sea, the Russian gas company said in a statement on July 8.

“Today, South Stream Transport B.V. informed Saipem S.p.A. of the termination of the contract for the construction of the first line of the offshore section of the pipeline, signed in the framework of the project ‘South Stream’ in 2014,” said Gazprom. 

The company added it will enter into negotiations with other potential contractors to build the first line of the “Turkish Stream” pipeline, which would run beneath the Black Sea to Turkey. 

Moscow canceled the construction of South Stream last December. Instead, Russia has decided to build a 63 billion cubic meter capacity natural gas pipeline to Turkey, bypassing Ukraine, now dubbed the “Turkish Stream.”