U.S. says to step up energy ties with Turkmenistan

* U.S. energy official visits remote Caspian nation

* Turkmenistan wants to ease export dependence on Russia

By Marat Gurt

ASHGABAT, March 4 (Reuters) - The United States wants to forge closer ties with Turkmenistan to help the Caspian gas producing nation develop new fields and diversify energy exports, a senior U.S. official was quoted as saying.

Turkmenistan, opening up after a long history of isolation, has sought to lure foreign companies into its fold in past years but contacts have been so far limited as the West cautiously weighs up opportunities in the remote Central Asian state.

Turkmenistan's resolve to embrace more Western investment has irritated Russia, its former Soviet overlord which until last year controlled almost all gas exports out of the strategic nation bordering Iran and Afghanistan.

This week has seen a fresh flurry of gas diplomacy in Turkmenistan, with visitors ranging from U.S. Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy Richard Morningstar to British Energy Minister Lord Hunt sitting down for talks with senior Turkmen officials.

Addressing Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, Morningstar said Washington was keen to develop closer energy relations, Turkmen state media reported late on Wednesday.

"Mr Morningstar stressed that the world's biggest companies, including those from the United States, were increasingly eager to intensify business contacts with the Turkmen side in the oil and gas sector," the state TDH news agency said.

Reports from Turkmenistan, which was closed to the outside world first under Soviet rule and later under the 21-year reign of its late autocratic leader Saparmurat Niyazov, are scarce.

Media were not invited to the meeting and the U.S. embassy in Turkmenistan declined to comment on the nature of the talks.

Turkmenistan's energy sector took a hit last year after key gas buyer Russia halted imports, seeking a lower price.

Berdymukhamedov, who came to power after Niyazov's death in 2006, has since encouraged regional players other than Russia to buy its gas, and opened new pipelines to Iran and China, although supplies to Russia have also since resumed.

The new leader, although criticised in the West for human rights abuses, has attracted praise from the European Union and the United States for his steps to liberalise economy and promoting a friendlier business image abroad.

Analysts, however, say foreign investment in Turkmenistan is limited by the government's policy of offering only risky Caspian offshore blocks to foreigners and retaining development rights to more lucrative onshore fields.

EU representative for Central Asia Pierre Morel, who was also in Turkmenistan this week, echoed Morningstar's call for more energy ties with Turkmenistan, a country seen in the EU as a possible new supplier of gas for its markets.

"The main topic of discussion was cooperation in the energy sector and Turkmenistan's strategy to add fresh momentum to its development through modernisation and diversification of export routes," Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper reported on Wednesday. (Writing by Maria Golovnina; Editing by Himani Sarkar)