Saipem to Resume Operations for Black Sea Pipeline
Italian oil contractor Saipem said on Friday it would restart work on an offshore pipeline in the Black Sea after South Stream Transport BV lifted a suspension of the works. Saipem had bagged contracts worth 2.4 billion euros last year mainly to build the first line of the South Stream pipeline from Russia to Bulgaria, but had to suspend work when the project was shelved in the face of objections from the European Union. Saipem is 43 percent owned by oil major Eni. (Reporting by Francesca Landini)
Eni Puts Saipem Stake Sale on Hold
Italian oil major Eni has put the sale of its stake in Saipem on hold after the cancellation of the lucrative South Stream gas pipeline project and plunging oil prices shaved off almost half the oil contractor's market value in two months. In July state-controlled Eni laid out plans to sell assets, including its 43 percent stake in Saipem, to help fund its transformation into a leaner oil and gas outfit. On Thursday Eni said in a statement it still considered Saipem as non strategic but that it had put any assessment of options on hold because of difficult market conditions. S