Turkmenistan's President has said his energy-rich country wants to export natural gas to Britain as part of its strategy to find new markets, state media reported Tuesday. The remarks provide a further boost to European hopes of tapping into the Central Asian nation's vast gas holdings and gradually reducing dependence on supplies from Russia. «The prospect of sending Turkmen natural gas to European markets, including Britain, is fully in line with Turkmenistan's plans to diversify its energy exports to world markets,» President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov said in a meeting with the U.K.'s Prince Andrew, who is also Britain's special representative for trade and investment. Most natural gas from Turkmenistan, which produced around 70 billion cubic meters (2.5 trillion cubic feet) in 2008, goes to Russia. Those deliveries have been suspended since April amid a row over an explosion on a key pipeline that all but shut off Turkmenistan's exports to Russia. The two sides are continuing to bicker over the cause and cost for repairs, the Associated Press reported. A pipeline to China is to come online over the coming year and is expected to reach an annual capacity of 40 billion cubic meters (1.4 trillion cubic feet). Turkmenistan has also said it hopes to boost its current deliveries to Iran and develop new markets in the West. Prince Andrew said Britain would provide «substantial support» to Turkmen efforts to develop large energy projects.
