A Ukrainian worker operates at the natural gas pipeline from Russia to Poland in Boyarka town 15 miles from Kiev, January 3, 2006. Russia accused Kiev of illegally tapping off gas from the pipeline crossing its territory to Europe after the Russian gas monopoly Gazprom cut its feed for Ukraine on Sunday. (UPI Photo/Sergey Starostenko)

BERLIN, April 11 (UPI) -- Russia's Gazprom is making sure it keeps its dominance of the European gas market, observers say, by trying to influence a potential alternative supplier to Europe -- Nigeria.

Europe's dependence on Russian gas has worried officials in Brussels ever since Russia in 2006 temporarily shut off Ukrainian gas supplies until the country agreed to pay higher prices. What followed were a string of strategies to diversify Europe's energy imports, including a pipeline bypassing Russia and greater use of liquefied natural gas.

Western officials say they hope West Africa, though it has less reserves than the Middle East, may turn into a viable alternative supplier to Europe; already, the area is one of the fastest growing producers of LNG.

In West Africa, Nigeria is the uncut diamond: Boasting on- and offshore oil reserves of 35 billion barrels (twice as much as Mexico's) and 176 trillion cubic feet of natural gas (as much as the United States'), it's no surprise Nigeria's energy sector has been courted by U.S. and European officials.

There are problems, however. Violence in the oil-rich Niger Delta and widespread government corruption have cut production, according to some estimates, by as much as a third. Becoming a viable source of supply to Europe will require the reduction of violence to an acceptable level. Still, with most of the world's easy energy gone, Nigeria could be an attractive prospect -- a fact not lost on the Europeans.