OREANDA-NEWS. January 10, 2008. A boom in Arctic shipping and Barents Sea oil and gas projects could revitalize the Russian port of Murmansk.
Key players in the Russian Arctic last month established the Murmansk Port Management Company (MPMC), reportedly under supervision of the Russian Ministry of Transport.

The Transport Ministry has said MPMC's main role would be to implement the development strategy for hub development and to prepare for planned investment projects.

Some of the main projects include development of the western shore of the Kola Bay with a new container terminal, oil terminal and coal terminal.
Players say the plans rely on the planned development of offshore oil and gas fields in the Barents Sea.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Murmansk in May and highlighted the need to develop the port.

Sources say Murmansk could become an infrastructure hub for the development of Russian oil and gas fields in the Barents Sea.
Murmansk is one of only a few Russian deep water and ice-free ports in the High North regions.
According to reports, MPMC ownership breakdown is as follows: the Murmansk Sea Commercial Port (40%), the Russian Railways (25%), Rosmorport (15%), Rosneft (15%) and the Murmansk Regional Administration (5%).

One industry source suggested Rosneft's involvement would be slight, saying that there would not be any need for a new land-based oil terminal along the Kola Bay as long as Rosneft had its 360,000 tonne Belokamenka supertanker functioning as a floating terminal tanker in the bay.