UPDATE 2-Turkmenistan opens door to investment after isolation

(Adds U.S. official paragraphs 4-5)

By Marat Gurt

ASHGABAT, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Global energy policymakers joined the race for Turkmenistan's vast oil and gas reserves on Wednesday as two days of intense diplomacy kicked off in the reclusive Caspian nation.

U.S. Energy Secretary Sam Bodman, EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs and executives from BP (BP.L), Chevron (CVX.N) and Russian companies flocked to Ashgabat for an oil conference marking the end of Turkmenistan's self-imposed isolation.

Russia buys most of the country's natural gas at below market prices but Turkmenistan's new reformist leader, Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, is keen to cooperate closer with the West to ease reliance on Russia's pipeline network.

"Turkmenistan has great potential which must be realised," Steven Mann, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for South Asian Affairs, told Reuters on the sidelines of the conference.

"And in this respect the United States of course will always support it."

Turkmenistan, isolated from the world first under Soviet rule and later during a 21-year reign of former president Saparmurat Niyazov, is keen to showcase its improving investment climate and fresh opportunities for global oil companies.

"Turkmenistan's potential to enter global markets depends on the possibilities of our gas transport system," Turkmen Oil Minister Baimurad Khojamukhamedov told foreign investors.

RUSSIA OR WEST?

Since Niyazov's death last December, the West, Russia and China intensified contacts with Turkmenistan which plans to more than triple its gas production by 2030 from this year's planned 70-80 billion cubic metres of gas.

Berdymukhamedov, however, has kept his options open, maintaining pragmatic relations with both Russia and the West.

He has agreed to build a pipeline that would boost supplies to Russia while tentatively agreeing to a U.S.-backed plan for a trans-Caspian pipeline which is designed to ease Europe's dependence on Russian gas imports.

"We are always ready for cooperation with well-known companies with vast experience in production and modern equipment, with global financial organisations and banks to implement big oil and gas projects," Berdymukhamedov said in remarks published ahead of the conference.

The West, however, has also urged Berdymukhamedov to show equal commitment to improving Turkmenistan's human rights record in a country where Niyazov brooked no dissent and kept many of his political opponents in jail.