Gazprom said Tuesday that it expected to increase gas exports to Europe by 15 percent this year while fighting to retain its stake in the market as liquefied natural gas, or LNG, and unconventional projects in the U.S. create oversupply.

Gazprom plans to supply 160.8 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe in 2010, after shipments fell to 140.2 billion cubic meters last year, the company said after its board reviewed marketing policy.

Europe imported 12 percent less Russian gas under long-term contracts last year as LNG supplies rose and the global economic crisis curbed demand, Gazprom said. U.S. advances in the development of unconventional gas resources and new LNG capacity in Qatar, the world's biggest producer of the supercooled fuel, have increased shipments to Europe and damped price growth.

The board approved Gazprom's efforts to carry out "measures to boost competitiveness, take advantage of gas market changes and enter new markets with pipeline gas and LNG," Gazprom said, without describing what the measures are. The company is seeking to maintain about 25 percent of European gas consumption.

Exports to Europe picked up in the second half, increasing in the fourth quarter by more than 19 percent from the same period in 2008, Gazprom said. The gas export monopoly seeks to boost European gas sales to 163.5 bcm next year and 170.9 bcm in 2012, the company said.

A "revolution" in U.S. shale gas production may "fundamentally" shift world markets, Kommersant reported Tuesday, citing a report prepared by deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev for the meeting.