Saipem was supposed to carry out a major part of the pipe-laying activities originally planned for the Black Sea, additionally entering a $552 million deal to provide supporting works to the second pipeline.

The contractor has been in the dark since Russian President Vladimir Putin canned the project early last month. In the wake of the decision Saipem said it was not possible to determine the economic impact of the suspension on its business, as both the duration of the suspension and the client's ultimate decision on the project were unknown.

Gazprom announced as recently as November that the front end engineering and design activities for the project had been completed and that construction was ready to begin in the Black Sea.

Almost 300,000 tonnes of pipes had been supplied for the first offshore string, while pipeline sections for the deepwater part of the project were being welded in the port of Burgas, Bulgaria.

Allseas was another contractor affected by the cancellation, with the 900km section of the second trunkline forming a large part of the Pieter Schelte vessel's 2015 summer work log.

In other recent developments, Gazprom bought out its partners in the South Stream Transport consortium earlier this week for an undisclosed amount.

Eni, EDF and Wintershall reportedly played major roles in bankrolling the project and had been reimbursed their capital investments to date.

Russia plans to build a pipeline to Turkey instead of the South Stream project and Gazprom has already announced the creation of a company charged with its construction.