Turkey's competition authority approves Saipem's merger with Subsea7

MILAN, July 22 (Reuters) - Turkey's competition authority has approved the merger between Italian energy contractor Saipem and its Norwegian rival Subsea7, an update published on the authority's website showed.

Both Saipem and Subsea7 are present in Turkey where they have won separate contracts for the development of the Sakarya field in the Black Sea, the largest offshore gas discovery in the country.     

The move clears one of the hurdles for the multi-billion dollar merger, which, however, is dealing with bigger antitrust challenges in the European Union, where it is set to face a full-scale EU investigation, as well as in Australia and in Brazil.     

The companies announced the deal in February last year to create a leading global player in offshore energy services, from drilling and engineering to laying subsea infrastructure for offshore oil and gas projects. Both operate a fleet of vessels for these services.

(Reporting by Francesca Landini in MilanEditing by Keith Weir)