Executives Quit Alaska Gas Venture Over Alleged Hidden Russian Financing, per NYT and FT
Executives Walk Out of a $25 Billion Alaska Gas Project
Executives at an Alaska gas venture tied to a Trump family friend have left after raising concerns about hidden Russian financing, per The New York Times and Financial Times.
The company, Polar LNG, is developing a roughly $25 billion project to liquefy natural gas from Alaska's North Slope for export to Asian customers, per the reports.
Polar LNG has sought US approval to buy equipment from a sanctioned Russian gas project owned largely by Novatek, per the reports. The venture launched in March and sought Treasury permission to negotiate with the Russian group, but had not received approval, per the Financial Times.
One of its investors is Gentry Beach, a friend of Donald Trump Jr., per the reports.
What the Former CEO Says He Found
Chief executive Joel Riddle said he initially believed the startup funding came from Gentry Beach and from Tech Wave Industrial Projects Management, a company based in Abu Dhabi, per the reports.
Riddle said he later discovered Beach had not invested in the venture and held neither a shareholder position nor an executive role, per the Financial Times.
He concluded that money coming through the Abu Dhabi company originated, at least in part, with Novatek, per the reports. The New York Times reviewed communications in which Novatek officials discussed providing as much as $15 million to Tech Wave to support the project, including an anticipated initial $5 million transfer.
The Financial Times examined WhatsApp messages in which Denis Solovyov, a senior Novatek executive, discussed financing and sought to accelerate money transfers to Polar LNG, per the report.
"I resigned as chief executive of Polar LNG because I felt uncomfortable that the Russian company Novatek was financing and ultimately controlling the strategic direction of the company," Riddle said, per the Financial Times.
The Departures Spread
Riddle, a former ExxonMobil engineer, raised concerns about the financing and possible sanctions violations and left in September, per the reports.
Chief financial officer Dan Chandra followed, along with executive vice president Jim Smith and executions manager Jody Trantham, per reporting on the departures.
Before leaving, Riddle consulted the law firm Baker Botts about the project's Russian connections, per the New York Times. Legal memoranda from the firm indicated that Treasury sanctions officials had already identified possible Russia-related concerns involving people connected to the project, per the report.
Riddle and the other departing executives urged the administration to investigate, per the New York Times.
The Companies Push Back
Polar LNG denies wrongdoing. The company named an acting CEO on Friday, said its work complies with US law, and called Riddle a disgruntled former employee who was terminated for cause, per Alaska News reporting. Riddle had submitted his resignation six days before the company sent him a termination letter, per the New York Times.
Novatek told the Times it was pursuing a minority shareholding in the project. It denied that access to its technology was conditional on sanctions relief for Arctic LNG 2, its Siberian project sanctioned by the US Treasury in 2023, per the reports.
Tech Wave said Novatek held no ownership interest in its business, per the reports. It said Bjorn Gundersen, a former Novatek executive involved in the venture, had supplied personal and borrowed funds.
Beach also said he separately signed a deal with Novatek last fall to develop gas in Alaska, a deal Reuters documented in February, per the reports.
The Diplomacy Angle
Vladimir Putin reportedly discussed Alaska energy cooperation with Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during Russia-Ukraine talks, per the reports.
The White House says the project came up only briefly. There is no evidence Witkoff or Kushner knew of the alleged financing, per the reports.
The Financial Times also described discussions of a possible arrangement under which Novatek would provide technology for the Alaska project in exchange for sanctions relief benefiting Arctic LNG 2, per the report.
Polar LNG is separate from Alaska LNG, the state-partnered project led by Glenfarne Group that would move North Slope gas through an 807-mile pipeline to Nikiski, per Alaska News.
What This Means for Markets
The project is private, but the allegations land in the middle of US LNG export policy and Russia sanctions enforcement, both of which matter to listed energy names.
Stocks to watch include LNG, the largest US LNG exporter, NEXT and VG among export developers, and North Slope producers XOM and CVX.
Any Treasury action on the allegations, or movement on Arctic LNG 2 sanctions, would ripple through global gas pricing and the competitive position of US exporters selling into Asia.
Bottom Line
A $25 billion Alaska gas project has lost its chief executive and much of its senior team over an allegation that sanctioned Russian money was quietly behind it.
The company denies wrongdoing, and the facts are still being fought over. The investigation the executives asked for is now the story to watch.
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