A new natural gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to China was launched this week. This is another step in the global diversification of energy flows – the topic of conversation between Chief Editor of RussiaProfile.org Andrei Zolotov, Jr. and Director of the Center for the Energy Market Studies at the Energy Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences Tatiana Mitrova.

Ms. Mitrova is one of Russia’s leading experts on global natural gas and other energy markets. A graduate of Moscow State University’s Economics Department, she founded in 2006 her research center, which deals with analysis of the development of international energy markets and Russia’s policies on energy exports and imports. A full member of the Russian Council for Foreign and Defense Policy, Mitrova is also part of the Regional Study Group on Global Energy Scenarios in the World Energy Council.