Saipem vessel leaving Russian waters after cancellation of Turkish Stream contract
MOSCOW. July 15 (Interfax) - The pipelay vessel of Italy's Saipem, Castoro Sei, along with its supply ships, has withdrawn from the Russian coast near Anapa and is returning to the Bulgarian port of Burgas, data from the global positioning system for marine vessels shows.
Gazprom hired Saipem last year to build the offshore section of the South Stream gas pipeline, but in December this project was cancelled and replaced with Turkish Stream. While the project was being reconfigured and negotiations were held with Turkey to secure permits, Saipem's vessels remained at Burgas. Gazprom needed to preserve the contract, as it had been cleared with the governments of Italy and the Netherlands before the EU imposed sanctions on Russia. The Gazprom group was represented in the contract by South Stream Transport BV.
In July, the Castoro Sei finally entered Russian waters, from which it was supposed to begin laying the offshore pipeline. But on July 8 Gazprom suddenly terminated the contract with Saipem, citing "the impossibility of reaching agreement on many working and commercial issues in the implementation of the Turkish Stream project."
Gazprom said it plans to hold negotiations with new contractors, possibly Russian companies.
Observers said the actual reason for the termination of the contract might have been that Gazprom hit a dead end in negotiations with Turkey, which has not yet granted permission for construction of the pipeline and is demanding a package deal with preferential prices for gas.
