Efforts to diversify the European energy sector should reach beyond its borders to countries like Norway and Turkmenistan, a European gas official said Monday.

Maros Sefcovic, the European commission in charge of energy policy, took part in a roundtable discussion Monday on balance in the European energy sector. The discussion came after the European Commission said it suspected Russian energy company Gazprom was violating antitrust rules by abusing its position in the Central and Eastern European markets.

The European market gets about a quarter of its gas needs met by Russia, though most of that runs through Soviet-era transit networks in Ukraine. Lingering contractual disputes between Kiev and Moscow, and more recent turmoil in eastern Ukraine, adds a layer of risk to conventional gas delivery options.

Sefcovic said Monday diversification efforts should "not stop at Europe's borders" but extend to countries like Norway.

"I just returned from a long trip to Turkmenistan to ensure Caspian gas flows into Europe," he added from his official Twitter account.

Norway is one of the regional market leaders in terms of oil and natural gas deliveries. In terms of production, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, the nation's energy regulator, reported around 1.9 million barrels of oil, natural gas liquids and condensate per day in February.

Turkmenistan and its Caspian neighbors, meanwhile, are gaining dominance in Europe's diversification strategies. Azerbaijan is expected to send natural gas through a network of pipelines dubbed the Southern Corridor before the end of the decade.

Negotiations continue, meanwhile, on a trans-Atlantic trade deal with the United States. U.S. officials have said the deal could lead to more liquefied natural gas deliveries from the United States to the European market, thereby breaking Russia's grip on the regional energy sector.