Atle Staalesen

Murmansk celebrates closure of oil-fuelled boiler. The new one runs on coal

No clean and renewable energy on the table as regional authorities upgrade a local heating system.
August 27, 2021

Almost 90% of the country's population is vaccinated, but number of new COVID-cases still rockets

Norway this week had the highest number of new infected since the pandemic started.
August 26, 2021

World's northernmost gold miners expand digging at Bolshevik Island

Russian mining company Sezar acquires new acreage for its operations in the far northern archipelago of Severnaya Zemlya.
August 26, 2021

A major oil exploration is going on in Russia's East Arctic waters

Several survey vessels are mapping the petroleum potential of the Laptev Sea and a drillship is on its way to spud the first ever wells in the area.
August 24, 2021

Fighting independent media, Moscow invests billions in patriotic internet contents for youth

The Russian government will this year invest 10 billion rubles in production of online "state contents" aimed at young people
August 19, 2021

Norwegian Oil Fund's new eco standards add pressure on Arctic extractors

The powerful sovereign wealth fund says it will pin its investments to a series of expectations on biodiversity and ecosystem. That could have consequences for the Fund's investments in the Arctic, including in Russian energy companies.
August 18, 2021

Big oil, gas and coal making headway on Russian Arctic coast

Hundreds of ships loaded with construction materials shuttle to the sites of new nonrenewable energy projects.
August 16, 2021

Russians offer Chinese oilmen a taste of Arctic methanol

The developers of the far northern Indiga project are courting Chinese investors.
August 14, 2021

Chinese icebreaker sails to North Pole, explores remote Arctic ridge

The Xue Long 2 (Snow Dragon 2) is on its second Arctic voyage during which it will conduct scientific surveys in the Gakkel Ridge.
August 11, 2021

Locals told to stay inside as 54 years old Russian crab vessel blazes in Norwegian port

An explosive fire on board the Tamango embraced the town of Kirkenes in black smoke.
August 09, 2021

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Atle is journalist and Publisher of the Independent Barents Observer.

In 2002, he founded the Barents Observer. He was editor until 2009 and later worked as journalist and project coordinator for several European cross-border cooperation projects. In late 2015, following a conflict over editorial rights, he re-established the Barents Observer as an independent and non-profit stock company along with the rest of the newspaper crew.  

Atle has a degree in Russian studies from the University of Oslo and studied journalism at the Moscow State University.

atle@thebarentsobserver.com
@atlestaalesen