South Stream has become the biggest casualty in the confrontation between Russia and Europe

Countries in Europe are shocked and angry at Russia's decision to abandon South Stream, its $ 50 billion gas pipeline across the Black Sea to Europe, as shares in the companies involved in the project plummet and plans for future profits collapse.

Bulgaria, Hungary and Serbia have said they have not received a warning that Moscow will abandon the project, although they all have financial capital invested, and Russia has said it will export its gas via Turkey.

Despite the fact that the European Commission insisted that Gazprom wants to own the pipeline system and thereby violates the rules of competition in the EU, the project was supported by several countries of Southeast Europe, which saw in it an opportunity to improve their energy security, and also hoped to make money from gas transit. In addition, the sanctions against Moscow played a negative role in the issue of obtaining EU permission for the construction of the gas pipeline.



Companies with contracts for South Stream have also suffered. Shares in Italian oil services group Saipem were down 10.8 percent, while Germany's Salzgitter, a joint venture to make deepwater pipes for the project, fell 7.4 percent. Other businesses, including Italy's Eni and Austria's OMV, were also hit.

Europipe, the Salzgitter joint venture, and other winning contractors such as United Metallurgical Company of Russia (OMK) and Severstal, as well as Voestalpine, which supplies OMK steel plates, all had hopes of increasing profits.

Salzgitter thought to use the idle capacity at the Europipe plant in Mülheim. Previously, low orders forced the company to cut the hours of some of its employees. The alternative route to Turkey will include fewer subsea pipes and even if the current contract is maintained, the change in plans could negatively affect Salzgitter's profits. Like Salzgitter, Saipem also expected South Stream to pick up revenue after a dismal 2013 when the company posted a net loss of € 404 million.