Last year's Economic Forum in Murmansk, the first in the series, was a conditional success. Event-wise it went far better than expected, while the mood among the participants was clearly marked by uncertainty about Shtokman. The programme was broadly organized, and most sectors were discussed thoroughly: Shtokman field, Murmansk Transport Hub, the modernization of the fishing industry, SMEs, etc.

So what will be discussed this year? When SDAG in January this year decided to postpone the investment decision until March 2011, much of the air went out of the balloon. Many of the companies that were planning to establish offices in Murmansk sat on the fence. Scepticism has gained a good foothold, and many believe the recovery of shale gas in the United States may remove the main income part in the Shtokman project. Recently there has also been talks about whether one should rather focus on gas exploration in the Yamal Peninsula. Anyway, SDAGs many experts continue their work indefatigably to find optimal solutions. In the meantime we are waiting for the decision, as in a play by Samuel Beckett ...

The second major project, the development of Murmansk as a national transportation hub, shows no substantial progress. Large federal sums (7 billion USD) have been allocated to the project, but so far it is hard to see any concrete results.

In other words, little has happened since last autumn, and there is some danger that the content of the forum may be not too interesting. The organizers believe, however, that there will be a rush of visitors, and turns up the entry fee of 35,000 rubles (about 7000 NOK) to 60,000 (about 12.000 NOK). The major players will anyway be present, while some companies will probably drop the forum this year. Such as BJC.