Index

Murmansk Oblast comprises 42 municipal areas: 14 urban districts, 5 municipal regions, 13 urban settlements and 10 rural settlements.

Murmansk Oblast enjoys great advantages over other Russian regions - in the first place, due to its geopolitical and transport-communication position. The region is “the Northern Gateway” of the country, connecting the Russian Federation with European states and managing huge freight traffic flows to the west and backwards.

The region has various natural resources available. Over 60 large-scale mineral deposits have already been discovered in the depths of the Kola Peninsula. More than thirty varieties of mineral products are being mined in the region, the most valuable of which being phosphate ores, titanium, iron, aluminium, copper, nickel, zirconium ores and other rare metals. The oblast is also well endowed with mica, ceramic solids, feedstock for building materials production, facing stone, gems and decorative stones.

Over the last twenty years, a number of rich shelf-deposits of oil and natural gas have been discovered in the Barents Sea, including the world-famed Shtokman natural gas field with estimated reserves of over 3.0 trillion cubic meters. In the long run, the development of this unique deposit should ensure that gas demand of the whole north-western district of Russia is satisfied for many years to come.