With the opening of the first liquefied natural gas, or LNG, plant on Sakhalin Island in Russia`s Far East, Gazprom is staking a bigger claim to world energy dominance - and signaling a shift toward conquering key Asian markets. The loading of a huge LNG tanker, capable of transporting the super-cooled gas around the world, was overseen on Wednesday by a bullish Pre­si­dent Dmitry Medvedev, together with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso. Capture the Season`s Best Memories Get a free Sony Cybershot 10MP camera and Sony 9" Digital Picture Frame! ElectronicsSource.us.com LATEST NEWS Politkovskaya case to be referred back to investigators - judge 12:12 20/02/2009 |The murder case of Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya will be referred back to an investigative committee at the Russian Prosecutor General`s Office, a judge said on Friday. Consul not allowed onboard Russian ship detained by North Korea 11:53 20/02/2009 |Russia`s consul in North Korea has been denied permission to board a Russian vessel earlier seized by border guards off the coast of the secretive communist state, the ship`s owner said on Friday. Kyrgyz president signs decree on U.S. base withdrawal 11:44 20/02/2009 |Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev signed on Friday a decree to close a U.S. airbase used since 2001 to support NATO operations in nearby Afghanistan, his press service said. Five killed in Ukrainian An-12 plane blaze in Egypt 11:40 20/02/2009 |A Ukrainian An-12 cargo plane burst into flames on Friday as it tried to take off in south Egypt killing five crew members, the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority head was quoted as saying by the MENA news agency. more news "I will not conceal we are happy about this," Medvedev said at the ceremony, adding that the plant would promote Russia as "a global supplier of natural resources." Royal Dutch Shell, squeezed out of controlling the Sakhalin-2 project by Gazprom in 2007 but still its operator, was also represented - by Britain`s Prince Andrew and the Dutch economy minister, Maria van der Hoeven. The facility will open up lucrative Asian markets - particularly China and Japan - and puts down a marker to Europe that it may have compete harder for Russia`s gas supplies in future. The LNG plant opening comes in a week that has also seen Russia strengthen its position in the Asian oil market, winning $25 billion in loans from Chinese banks in return for guaranteed supplies of oil for the next 20 years. Currently Russia provides 4 per cent of Asia`s energy supplies. With the new LNG outlet, Russia plans to win between 21 per cent and 32 per cent of the Asian energy market by 2030, according to Valery Nesterov, oil and gas analyst at Troika Dialog. "It sends a signal to Europe in particular that Russia has options," said Chris Weafer, chief economist at UralSib. "It is not only dependent on selling products to the European Union. Russia, by getting into it at an early stage can have a much greater influence on how the industry develops and ensure it keeps a dominant role as it has in pipeline energy." Gazprom is already seeking to open another LNG plant at its Shtokman field in the Arctic to help diversify its supply to Europe and lessen its dependence on pipelines. "They want to have more options and avoid the problems they had with Ukraine and the gas pipeline this year," said Weafer. LNG is also a big part of Russia`s plans to forge a powerful alliance of gas producing countries, and in December a key meeting was held in Moscow to set up an OPEC-style gas organization. "A gas forum which brings the producers together with the customers makes a great deal of sense," said Weafer. "The question is whether it will actually work or fall into the same sort of problems that have troubled OPEC."