energy

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

December 21 2006: 10:25 AM EST

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.