Turkmen death puts gas supplies in turmoil

One analyst says situation could become ‘a nightmare’ as country, which supplies huge amounts of energy to Europe, struggles to fill leadership void.

MOSCOW (Reuters) — The death of Turkmen leader Saparmurat Niyazov on Thursday plunges Europe’s energy security into doubt, with the prospect of a struggle for power raising the specter of a new gas crisis.

The self-styled “Turkmenbashi” or “Head of the Turkmen” left no designated successor to lead the autocratic state, which had planned to step up its gas exports to help Russian gas monopoly Gazprom meet a quarter of Europe’s needs.

“I expect there will be a massive fight for power now in Turkmenistan and it’s likely to take place between pro-U.S. and pro-Russian forces,” said a Russian gas industry source, who declined to be named.

“Gas will become the main coin of exchange and the key asset to get hold of. There shouldn’t be any short-term problems with supplies to Russia and onward but in the mid-term it could become a nightmare.”

Reuters