Industrial Support of the Energy Projects as a Part of the Blue Economy Development in the Arctic

Abstract

The article discusses a range of economic issues related to the efficient use of the industrial potential of coastal territories (by the example of the Murmansk region) in the development of shelf deposits. A comprehensive analysis of the industrial complex and an objective assessment of conditions for the development of the oil and gas industry in the Murmansk region are given. Considerable attention is paid to the formation of organizational and economic mechanisms for using the industrial potential of regional enterprises in the implementation of oil and gas and large industrial projects in the territory of a new producing area.

1. Introduction

The Russian Arctic plays a strategic role in the Russian economy. At present, nine subjects of the Russian Federation are officially part of the Russian Arctic zone. Enterprises operating in these entities provide up to 15% of Russian GDP, while forming 25% of the country’s exports. The Russian Federation has the longest land border in the Arctic—22 thousand km; the area of the continental part of the Arctic is 4.9 million km²; and the population of the Russian Arctic reaches 2.5 million people [1,2].

The issues of the Blue economy are especially relevant for the development of such an important macro-region for the Russian economy as the Arctic. The colossal reserves of the mineral resources sector, bioresources, as well as rare earth metals and other important chemical elements are concentrated here. The presence of a number of economic entities is already observed in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation: oil and gas, mining, military industrial, transport, fishing, and ship repair sectors (Figure 1).

Currently, the Murmansk region is acquiring the status of a natural economic center for the Arctic development. The city of Romanov on Murman was founded in 1916 and was renamed as the city of Murmansk after the revolution of 1917. It actively developed throughout the Soviet period, receiving the status of the largest city beyond the Arctic Circle, reaching record values in terms of the number of inhabitants as well as indicators of industrial and scientific potential.

With its unique geographic and infrastructural features, such as an ice-free deep-water port, developed industries and proximity to potential markets, the Murmansk region has significant potential for the Blue economy development. The Blue economy should become a driver of the socio-economic development of the region, largely predetermining the workload of regional enterprises, as well as the well-being of citizens living on the territory.

Worthy of separate attention in the development of the Blue economy on the territory of the Murmansk region is the role of regional manufacturing enterprises in providing energy projects in the Arctic. The unique industrial potential of the northern regions, accumulated since Soviet times, has every chance of being maximally integrated into the ongoing projects in the North: the supply of metal structures, construction and paintwork materials, work clothing, food, as well as geological exploration, drilling, construction works, providing transport, research, educational, information and other types of services.

And 2.5 million people living in the Russian Arctic should have the opportunity for professional participation in the projects and the formation of added value as part of the industrial support of projects [3].

These best world practices for the Blue economy development in the northern regions of Western countries can be successfully projected onto the Russian regions of the Arctic zone, which will ensure the transformation of the hydrocarbon resource potential of the North into the development of key sectors of the Blue economy and, as a result, increase the quality of life of people living in these areas.

The purpose of this research is to study the industrial potential of the Murmansk region in terms of developing one of the trends of the Blue economy—the provision of ongoing energy projects in the Arctic and the possibility of forming and developing an offshore oil and gas cluster in this territory.

The information issues of the research are based on the personal experience of the authors in studying the industrial potential of the Murmansk region, as well as on the analysis of the works of Russian and foreign experts in the field of the Blue economy development, industrial management, theory and practice of strategic management, and regional development.

Within the framework of this study, tools and methods of strategic, situational and system analysis, project management methodology, as well as methods of expert assessments, were applied.

The relevance of this study is in the possibility of applying the results of research in the management activities of both regional leaders and managers of energy corporations implementing energy projects in the Arctic.

2. Murmansk Region in the Context of Providing Offshore Oil and Gas Projects

The efficient work of the geological exploration organizations of the Murmansk region, thanks to which a number of fields, unique in their reserves, were discovered on the Arctic shelf, helped to create the prerequisites for the formation of the Murmansk region as a new oil and gas production center in Russia [1,2].

According to experts, 75% of all hydrocarbon reserves of the Russian shelf are located on the shelf of the Western Arctic, which turns the Arctic into a strategic region in terms of promising hydrocarbon production [4,5,6].

The Murmansk Commercial Seaport (MSCP) is the “Arctic gateway of Russia” with an ice-free water area, relatively low shipping intensity, and a convenient location in relative proximity to the main exporting countries, which increases its competitiveness among similar ports in the North of Russia.

Murmansk Seaport is suitable for vessels with a displacement exceeding 350 thousand tons to enter the port. Currently, no port in the European part of Russia has such characteristics [1].

The ongoing reconstruction of the port terminals, as well as the construction of production facilities, such as oil transshipment complexes, are turning the Murmansk port not only into a transport gateway to the Russian Arctic zone, but also into the largest hub in the European part of Russia for the transshipment of hydrocarbons produced in the fields of the western Arctic.

Currently, one of the most significant problems in the hydrocarbons export through the Murmansk port is the absence of any oil pipelines connected to the territory of the Murmansk region, which necessitates the delivery of oil and oil products by rail, which has a very limited capacity.

Potential construction of an oil pipeline between western Siberia and the Kola Peninsula is still a very promising idea that could become an effective solution for transporting hydrocarbons to the Murmansk port for export.

The development of arctic hydrocarbon deposits in terms of climate and remoteness will require significant investment, as well as the creation of new technical and technological solutions: gas pipelining under the sea, design, construction and installation of production complexes, facilities for gas processing and liquefaction and related infrastructure. At the same time, the need to consider stringent environmental requirements is the most important factor in the development of shelf deposits [2,7,8].

In the context of the implementation of oil and gas projects on the Arctic shelf, the industrial potential of the Murmansk region can hardly be overestimated. In addition to the geographical proximity of the region to explored hydrocarbon deposits, the largest industrial and ship repair enterprises, research and educational institutions are located on the territory of the Murmansk region. For example, there is Arktikmorneftegazrazvedka AO in Murmansk, a unique enterprise capable of carrying out the entire range of prospecting and exploration works, design, construction of wells and the calculation of reserves based on scientific processing of the data obtained.

The competitive advantages of the Murmansk region turn the Kola Peninsula not only into the most important transport hub of the Russian Federation, but also into a promising base for the development of the Arctic shelf. In particular, the Murmansk port looks very attractive from the point of view of accumulation, transshipment and delivery of hydrocarbon raw materials to sales markets (Figure 2).

With the start of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, Western countries announced their intention to reduce and then completely stop imports of Russian oil and gas. In this regard, the authors would like to make a number of comments on this event and formulate a predictive vision for the development of the Murmansk transport hub in this context.

First of all, the authors proceed from the existing economic and transport and logistics opportunities of the Murmansk transport hub without reference to political decisions, which are not always based on well-defined economic calculations and may change over time depending on the political situation in Europe and the world. In this regard, it is possible to consider the export of hydrocarbons from Russia to Europe and the United States as an economic option without reference to political decisions.

The indicated transport and logistics routes may include products that are not related to hydrocarbons. We are talking about the export of products of the mineral resource sector, bioresources, aquaculture, as well as other goods in transit through the Russian Federation (for example, from China).

If the idea of a complete rejection of Russian hydrocarbons by the countries of the European Union is implemented, the transport and logistics capabilities of the Murmansk transport hub may still be in demand, but already for the supply of resources to the Asia-Pacific market.

Taking into account these circumstances, the transport and logistics capabilities of the seaport of Murmansk are described based on their objective economic potential.

The Murmansk region is the base location of the fishing, merchant, naval and the unique icebreaker fleets. Experts identify Murmansk as the starting point of the Northern Sea Route, which gives the port a special status in the context of promising Arctic shipping.

The development of Murmansk as an industrial base for future projects for the extraction of oil and gas resources in the region, associated with the beginning of the Arctic shelf development and the increase in the transportation of hydrocarbons, will give an impetus to the development of industrial enterprises not only in the Murmansk region, but in the north-west of Russia.

Today Murmansk plays the same strategic role as the Scottish Aberdeen or the Norwegian Stavanger 40 years ago, during the period of the beginning of commercial production of hydrocarbons on the North Sea shelf [1].

On the territory of the region, there are enterprises of the Russian Navy, which are idle today without government orders. Without a doubt, part of the industrial and intellectual potential of these enterprises can be successfully reoriented to work within the perimeter of the needs of the oil and gas industry.

In anticipation of the upcoming development of the Arctic shelf, a special economic zone of the port type was created in the Murmansk region by the decision of the Government of the Russian Federation. In addition, a few years ago it was decided to transfer the shipyard No. 82, based in the Roslyakovo village, Murmansk Region, to PJSC NK Rosneft in order to create a comprehensive base for supporting offshore projects in the Arctic on the territory of the plant.

Due to the objectively existing industrial advantages, developed infrastructure, and favorable geographic location, the Kola Peninsula is the center of attention in the implementation of projects related to the Russian Arctic.

On the Kola Peninsula, there are two significant airports: Murmansk (Murmashi settlement) and Khibiny (Apatity). In the near future, the large air transport hub can be created on the territory of Murmansk region.

The Kola Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences is based in the region, which determines the presence of high scientific and human potential.

The hydrocarbon resources explored on the Arctic shelf open up additional opportunities for service companies and product suppliers. A SWOT analysis of conditions for the development of the oil and gas industry in the Murmansk region is presented in Table 1.

The SWOT analysis of the existing conditions for the development of the oil and gas industry in the Murmansk region showed that despite the existing weaknesses and threats, the Kola Peninsula is the base region for locating logistics bases and performs a wide range of works in almost all options for the development of hydrocarbon fields on the shelf of the Arctic seas.

The Kola Peninsula is attractive for the location of enterprises involved in the transportation of oil, gas and gas condensate, installation and repair of platforms and equipment, logistics for drilling operations, field exploitation, etc.

It is important to note that, despite the fact that a number of high-tech contracts remain inaccessible to Russian companies, at the beginning of the implementation of energy projects Russian regional enterprises are able to perform a whole range of works: carrying out electrical works, building any type of construction communications, drilling and blasting, crushing, moving rocks, sand reclamation, construction of access and intra-facility highways, construction of berths, etc. [9,10,11,12].

Russian regional companies are able to perform the following scope of work: conducting surveys, drilling operations, and transport services including shipping and aviation companies. The use of the icebreaker fleet for the needs of Arctic projects is an obvious necessity. As part of the construction of infrastructure facilities, it is necessary to provide accommodation for more than 10,000 employees and organize a full range of services: personal services, meals, etc. The territories of some enterprises in the region are promising for the placement of a comprehensive support base for Arctic projects, which is the subject of potential cooperation in the territorial leasing.

The implementation of projects for the production of hydrocarbons on the shelf can give a significant impetus to the socio-economic development of the Arctic regions, in particular the Murmansk and Arkhangelsk regions, as well as the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. For example, the Arkhangelsk region, being the largest shipbuilding center in Russia, has the ability to design and build ships and other marine equipment necessary for the development of the shelf. The enterprises existing on the territory of these regions were able to maintain the high professionalism of the engineering and technical personnel and the ability to work with high technologies, despite the diversification of production that took place during the post-reform period.

The structure of suppliers of the world oil and gas complex, working in the service and supply industries and playing an important role on the shelf, largely consists of small and medium businesses. For example, the number of employees does not exceed 10 people in 2/3 of such companies [1].

Despite the existing “weaknesses”, the Kola Peninsula acts as a base and support region for the development of hydrocarbon deposits on the shelf of the Arctic seas. To use the industrial potential of the enterprises of the Murmansk region as efficiently as possible, their organizational and economic integration with further transformation into an international offshore oil and gas cluster is necessary.

Thus, the Kola Peninsula has sufficient industrial, human, scientific and economic potential necessary for the implementation of large-scale oil and gas projects in the region. In this matter, the active participation of the state is urgently needed to transform the Murmansk region into a new world transport and energy center.

Along with the obvious industrial prospects, the development of the oil and gas industry in the region can potentially have a negative impact on the development of the region. We are talking, first of all, about the indigenous peoples of the north.

Indigenous peoples include such groups of the population that live in the territory of the traditional settlement of their ancestors, preserve the traditional way of life, management and crafts. Their number is less than 50 thousand people in the Russian Federation, and they consider themselves as independent ethnic communities.

Having centuries-old experience of living in the northern territories, the indigenous peoples of the north do not always successfully adapt to the emerging market relations and new forms of socio-economic relations. The current experience in the implementation of projects for the extraction of natural resources has shown that the interests of the indigenous peoples of the north often remained without due attention, which led to a deterioration in the living and working conditions of the aboriginal population: the balance of territories was disturbed; land of traditional use was alienated for industrial use; reindeer pastures were taken out of circulation; and spawning grounds for valuable fish species were polluted.

This approach leads to the loss of traditional types of management, culture and native languages, negatively affecting the health of the representatives of the indigenous peoples, as well as creating objective difficulties in the field of employment. Indigenous peoples are one of the most vulnerable groups of the population that needs maximum care from the state.

The role of the state in ensuring sustainable development cannot be overestimated. The state acts as a regulator capable of ensuring the effective and balanced development of the region.

It is important to realize that the Arctic is a territory whose development cannot be determined solely by the laws of a market economy. The state in co-operation with oil and gas companies and public environmental organizations should provide an environmentally balanced model of sustainable nature management, taking into account the particular vulnerability of the harsh Arctic nature and solving the problems of preservation of the natural habitat [7,13,14].

3. Small and Medium Business as a Backbone of the Service Infrastructure of the Oil and Gas Complex in the Development of Offshore Fields

In the economic activity of the oil and gas complex, the service infrastructure acts as a complex, multifaceted, hierarchical, and complex-forming system that ensures the process of oil and gas production. The role of infrastructure can hardly be overestimated. It not only creates the conditions for the implementation of the process of production and processing of hydrocarbons, providing it with the necessary resources, but also creates the preconditions for the development of industrial complexes and enterprises involved in this process, stimulating them to receive additional profits through systemic transformations and the use of results of scientific and technical progress.

Despite the complex structure of the objects of the industrial and service infrastructure of the oil and gas complex, there is a possibility of their classification. The industrial service infrastructure provides the production process with the necessary list of services that contribute to improving the quality characteristics of industrial products, improving logistical synergy and sales technologies, and provides legal support for products at all stages of their life cycle [1].

The study proposes a classification of objects of industrial and service infrastructure of the oil and gas complex, which is based on their conditional division into a number of categories: financial and economic, transport and logistics, information, research, social, production, innovation, institutional, and market. This division shows the place of the service infrastructure in the process of interaction of the oil and gas complex with its infrastructure environment (Figure 3).

The development of offshore hydrocarbon fields located at a significant distance from the coastline and, as a rule, characterized by extremely difficult potential production conditions, is a very difficult task. The widespread opinion is that only large corporations can carry out such work. Without denying this fact, it should be noted that the modern structure of the world oil and gas complex is largely represented by small and medium businesses [15].

Suppliers of the oil and gas complex account for up to 80% of the work in the implementation of large projects for the development of hydrocarbon deposits.

The corresponding organizational and economic mechanisms ensure the specialization of enterprises in the performance of certain types of work and require clear coordination in the interactions between oil and gas companies and supplier companies. The level of competitiveness of the oil and gas industry, and even the rate of reproduction of the mineral resource base, are also largely determined by the effectiveness of the relationship between the oil and gas complex and suppliers.

The experience of creating the Petro Arctic Association (previously called Snohvit, after the field of the same name) can be cited as a typical successful example of the involvement of the regional industry in projects for the development of hydrocarbon fields implemented by Equinor in Norway. The northernmost existing gas liquefaction plant was built as part of the development of the Snohvit field within the city of Hammerfest in Norway [16].

Prior to the development of the Snovit field, regional enterprises had no experience of cooperation in the oil and gas sector at all, which, as a rule, could be a competitive disadvantage in tenders held by oil and gas companies. Acting within the framework of the state program for the development of the northern territories and having obligations to involve regional enterprises in projects, Equinor expected to conclude contracts with regional companies in the amount of approximately NOK 600 million.

However, to achieve their goals, regional companies had to meet a number of special requirements imposed by operating companies: labor protection and quality of manufactured products, availability of quality conformity certificates and other permits confirming the reliability of products and provided services.

The management of Equinor and state regional bodies created the Petro Arctic association, which united the production companies of the region, aimed at working as suppliers of products and services for the development of the shelf. During five years, within the framework of the created association, many training seminars, meetings of regional enterprises with the key managers of Equinor in the B2B format were held; many employees of regional enterprises underwent retraining, and enterprises were re-equipped, significantly increasing their professional competence and thereby confirming their readiness to comply with the highest standards of industrial safety and quality when working on the shelf.

Upon completion of the project for the development of the Snohvit field and the construction of the corresponding infrastructure, the share of regional companies in this project was calculated. The results of the calculation showed that the regional companies supplied goods for an amount exceeding NOK 3.2 billion, which exceeded the initial expectations by more than 5 (!) times. Long-term residents of the city of Hammerfest, near which a liquefied gas plant and related infrastructure were constructed, compare the process of developing the Snohvit field with the restoration of the city after the World War II: roads were laid in the region, shops were opened, houses were built, and new production facilities were opened. All this clearly demonstrates the effects of involving small and medium businesses in the region [16].

Being a powerful source that allows creating new values and increases national wealth, the development of small and medium businesses meets the socio-economic interests of Russia. Small and medium businesses have several obvious advantages: they can not only to act as investors, but also to adapt, changing their profile depending on the changing market conditions and market needs.

Competition within the framework of the tender procedures held by the operating companies stimulates the development and modernization of the technological base and the increase in the competitiveness of products. All this provides resource opportunities for further technological development and economic growth of enterprises in the region.

World experience shows that the demand for science-intensive, high-tech products of the manufacturing industries multiplies with the movement of the raw material base of oil and gas production to the shelf of the Arctic seas.

Thus, the increase in the volume of oil transportation associated with the start of the Arctic shelf development will inevitably lead to the role of Murmansk as an industrial base for promising hydrocarbon production projects, which will give an impetus to the development of industrial enterprises in the entire northwest. The developed infrastructure of the Kola Peninsula and its unique geographical position turn Murmansk into new natural center for the Arctic shelf development.

4. Challenges for Russian Suppliers Participating in Oil and Gas Projects in the Arctic

The development of industrial support for energy projects as part of the Blue economy of the region is possible with the active involvement of related industries of the region. At the same time, Russian suppliers face several challenges, which will be discussed below.

The implementation of current and promising projects on the shelf requires scientific and industrial development for manufacturing a significant number of unique and complexity technical means: from ships and drilling platforms to equipment, instruments for geophysical, navigation and other purposes. It is noteworthy that several experts equate technologies for the development of offshore hydrocarbon fields on a par with technologies for space exploration, the development of electronics and nanotechnology.

One of the key vectors of the ongoing industrial policy should be an active increase in the share of Russian companies participating in the tender procedures of operating companies.

As noted earlier, for oil and gas projects suppliers are selected based on the results of tender procedures, in which experienced foreign companies are involved. These circumstances create certain difficulties in the competition between domestic supplier companies and foreign colleagues.

When implementing international projects, the main difficulties of Russian enterprises in supplying activity can be presented in the following form [17,18,19,20]:

• The prevalence of world (global) suppliers over regional ones. International oil and gas operators often tend to work with reputable global leaders in the supply chain for the oil and gas complex (OGC). This is often due to objective reasons (issues of quality of products and personnel of regional companies, lack of the necessary infrastructure in the region, etc.). Oil and gas operators are reluctant to sever relationships with existing suppliers with whom they have long-term industrial relationships in order to obtain supplies within the country.

• Definition of “entry points” in the supply chains. As noted earlier, international oil and gas operators often tend to work with reputable global leaders in supply and service for oil and gas companies, such as Halliburton and Schlumberger, whose reputation and capital become the guarantor of quality products and services. This state of affairs is a common practice not only for the oil and gas industry, but also for many other industries where the reputation of the supplier plays an important role (in ensuring timely deliveries of quality products and strictly in accordance with environmental, production and generally accepted standards). Based on this, the best option for companies starting their activities as suppliers (we are talking primarily about regional companies) is to become a supplier of a supplier, and not directly a supplier to an oil and gas company.

• Information deficiency. For most operating companies (both foreign and Russian), it is rather difficult to assess the production capabilities of domestic suppliers since most enterprises do not have the status/reputation of a supplier for the oil and gas industry or experience financial difficulties to maintain and promote their offer on the market. At the same time, Russian suppliers do not have enough information about the needs that exist at the moment in the supply of a certain product or services for the needs of the oil and gas company. The lack of necessary information on both sides makes it difficult for regional suppliers to identify projects in which they could participate in the tender procedures, and for project operators, it turns the identification of local suppliers and contractors into a complex and expensive undertaking.

• Standardization and certification. The supplier’s compliance with safety requirements and the highest quality standards is a necessary criterion for the successful qualification of a company as a supplier within the framework of tender procedures. That is why operating companies seek to conclude contracts for the supply of goods or services with companies that have international certification (Achilles, ISO, API (American Petroleum Institute) or ASME (American Institute of Mechanical Engineers)), regardless of the quality of their work. In addition, environmental requirements are an additional motivation for oil and gas companies to conclude supply contracts only with suppliers that have international certification.

• Environmental protection and safety. No modern operating company can tolerate emergencies in which people or the environment can be harmed. For this reason, the strategy of local suppliers should aim to maximize the satisfaction of oil and gas companies’ requirements for safety and production skills, including compliance with the environmental standards of contract work.

Regional companies performing work on the construction sites are obliged to ensure the smooth operation of personnel; for this reason, all new employees must successfully complete health, environmental and safety training.

• 6.. Highly qualified personnel. The lack of a highly qualified workforce, in particular with technical and managerial skills, is one of the key problems. This situation harms both suppliers of products and services and operators of oil and gas projects. At the same time, there is a certain dualism due to the fact that Russian companies are, firstly, experiencing difficulties in finding engineers in the country who could be retrained in technical disciplines to carry out supplies in the oil and gas sector. Secondly, such advanced training leads to an increase in the cost of skilled labor, as well as significant costs that companies spend on training specialists [17].

5. Involving Russian Enterprises in Development Projects of Arctic Offshore Hydrocarbon Fields

Associations of suppliers “Murmanshelf” and “Sozvezdiye” established in 2006 in Murmansk and Arkhangelsk are the successful examples for cooperation between oil and gas complex and local small and medium enterprises.

Speaking about the Murmansk region, the purpose of creating the Murmanshelf Association was the need to prepare the local industry and to unite enterprises interested in participating in the Arctic shelf projects. The Association promotes the positioning of enterprises as suppliers of the oil and gas industry, maximum involvement in projects for the development of Arctic hydrocarbon fields, and the construction of the corresponding onshore infrastructure. Special attention is paid to the issues of personnel training for the oil and gas industry [21].

By type of activity, number of personnel, as well as the ratio of Russian and foreign participation of supplier enterprises, the structure of members of the Murmanshelf Association is shown in Figure 4 and Figure 5.

The Murmanshelf Association is actively working to improve the competence of the organization’s members, creating a platform for the transfer of advanced industry technologies. Training seminars are held on a regular basis, involving specialists from leading Russian and foreign oil and gas companies, general contractors, and suppliers. A detailed database of the regional industry has been formed, and a journal is published on the issues of organizing the provision of offshore projects.

The creation of industry-type associations capable of functioning effectively on the basis of integration mechanisms, and also taking into account economic interests with the prospect of their transformation into oil and gas clusters, are some of the most effective mechanisms for involving enterprises in hydrocarbon development projects [1,21,22,23].

Table 2 shows indicators for assessing the effectiveness of industrial clusters in the Arctic energy projects.

Production indicators characterize the industrial development of cluster enterprises that ensure sustainable growth in production and services.

Economic indicators describe the possible economic effects and financial stability of enterprises included in the cluster.

Innovative indicators represent the ability of the enterprise to develop appropriate innovations, the level of innovative activity, as well as the economic effect of the use of innovations.

Personnel indicators characterize the stability of development and the use of the potential of human resources in enterprises.

6. Conclusions

Today, at the beginning of the new millennium, Russia is on the verge of new realities, in which the Arctic is perceived as a promising economic territory with significant economic potential [24,25,26].

Currently, several measures have been taken at the state level to create a favorable investment climate and develop entrepreneurial activity in the Arctic.

Consequently, in 2020, the Federal Law of 13 July 2020 No. 193-FZ On State Support for Entrepreneurship in the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation, defining the legal regime of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, measures of state support and the procedure for carrying out entrepreneurial activities in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, was approved [27].

It is worth noting that in October 2020, the Strategy for Developing the Russian Arctic Zone and Ensuring National Security until 2035 was approved. It is a fundamental document that determines the systemic development of the entire Arctic zone of Russia [28].

The advanced special economic zone “Capital of the Arctic” is the first Arctic territory of advanced social and economic development with preferences in force in the Far East, created in accordance with the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 12, 2020 No. 656 [29].

Currently, Russia has created the prerequisites for maximizing Local Content in Arctic oil and gas projects. The backbone of the service infrastructure of the oil and gas complex when developing offshore hydrocarbon fields in the Arctic can be effectively represented by small and medium businesses, which are the locomotives (drivers) of the economic development of this industry.

It is obvious that the spontaneous creation of a cluster is fundamentally possible. However, for this process to be as effective as possible, aimed at obtaining the greatest integral result, both the will of the business community and the will of the state are necessary.

Thus, the goals of creating an oil and gas cluster are:

• (1). The involvement of small and medium businesses in projects for the hydrocarbon development on the Arctic shelf;

• (2). The formation of an efficient service infrastructure of the oil and gas complex that meets the requirements of efficient and safe field development;

• (3). The creation of new jobs and the formation of multiplier economic effects;

• (4). The implementation of innovative projects using the mechanism of public–private partnership;

• (5). Attracting strategic investors with high-tech products and services;

• (6). The transition of the region to a post-industrial type of development, characterized by an increase in the created added value;

• (7). An increase in the competitiveness of the region associated with the development of offshore fields can lead to an increase in the living standards and stability of the adjacent territories and have a positive impact on the economy of the northwest region as a whole.

Industrial support of energy projects should become part of the Blue economy of the Arctic regions and be of a pronounced socially oriented nature.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, A.M.F., S.S.V. and N.M.K.; methodology, S.V.F. and A.M.F.; validation, M.Y.K.; investigation, A.M.F. and K.S.Z.; data curation, N.M.K.; writing—original draft preparation, S.S.V. and S.V.F.; writing—review, and editing, N.S.A. and K.S.Z.; project administration, K.S.Z. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures and Tables

Figure 1. The Arctic as a new promising economic territory. Source: compiled by the authors.

Figure 2. Murmansk port as a transport hub for the delivery of hydrocarbons to sales markets. Source: compiled by the authors.

Figure 3. Interaction of the oil and gas complex with infrastructure. Source: compiled by the authors.

Figure 4. Principal directions of the Murmanshelf Association member enterprises’ activity. Source: compiled by the authors.

Figure 5. The staff number of members of the Murmanshelf Association. Source: compiled by the authors.

Table 1

SWOT analysis of conditions for the development of the oil and gas industry in the Murmansk region. Source: compiled by the authors.

External Environment	Internal Environment
Opportunities:1. The unique geographical position of the Kola Peninsula;2. Huge reserves of explored hydrocarbon raw materials on the Arctic shelf of the Russian Federation;3. The existence of a significant number of deposits of the mineral resource complex;4. High intellectual and educational level of the population;5. The existence of well-developed innovative proposals for a number of sectors of the regional economy;6. Close proximity to the border of the European Union (Norway and Finland).	Strengths:1. Multifunctionality of the production complex;2. High export potential of the Murmansk port;3. Convenient logistic accessibility to potential sales markets;4. Non-freezing deep-water port;5. High industrial, human and scientific potential of the region;6. Relative intensity of shipping in the water area of the Murmansk port;7. Reliable communication of the Kola Peninsula with the industrially developed regions of the Russian Federation by means of railway transport, air and sea communication;8. The presence of the territory of advanced development in the region.
Threats:1. Relative remoteness of the region from the center of the Russian Federation;2. Extreme climatic conditions. Sensitive ecosystem;3. Natural population decline (including its working population);4. Volatility of world prices for oil and raw materials produced in the region;5. Energy and transport rate increase;6. Losses in sales markets due to the decision of the EU countries to abandon Russian hydrocarbons.	Weaknesses:1. Significant production costs;2. Moral and physical obsolescence of fixed assets of most enterprises in the region;3. Raw materials orientation of the region with low added value;4. Lack of high-tech industries in the region and low level of competitive environment;5. Lack of self-financing of a number of regional enterprises, as well as lack of investment;6. Outflow of human capital.

Table 2

The system of indicators for assessing the effectiveness of industrial clusters. Source: compiled by the authors.

Group of Indicators	Indicators
Production	The volume of industrial output produced by cluster enterprises, billion RUB (rubles);The volume of services provided by cluster enterprises (drilling, repair, consulting, transport, etc.), billion RUB;Growth rates of output of products of the cluster, %;Growth rates of labor productivity at cluster enterprises, %;Share of updated and new fixed production assets created at cluster enterprises, %.
Economic	Synergy effect of the cluster, characterized by the total economic value added of the cluster enterprises, billion RUB;Growth rates of tax payments to the regional budget by cluster enterprises from total tax revenues, %;Profitability of sold products by cluster enterprises, %;Growth rates of profits of enterprises included in the cluster, %;Cumulative investments in the development of production and services by cluster enterprises, billion RUB;Ratio of own and borrowed capital of cluster enterprises, %.
Innovative	The share of intangible assets (rights to intellectual property) in the assets of the enterprise, %;Share of research and development results in the company’s assets, %;Number of patent applications, pcs.;Number of obtained patents, pcs.;Number of efficiency proposals, pcs.;R&D expenses, billion RUB;Unit R&D costs (R&D costs / company revenue), %;Unit R&D costs (R&D costs per unit of output), billion RUB / production unit; The level of use of innovative technologies (number of developments and technologies developed or used in production activities), expert assessment;Efficiency of mastering innovations (share of implemented innovations in the total number of developed innovations), %;Efficiency of using R&D results, billion RUB.
Personnel	Number of new jobs, units;Staff turnover, %;The share of costs for training and advanced training of personnel in the total costs of cluster enterprises, %;The share of higher education professionals in the total number of employees of the enterprise, %.

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