Polar Train LNG Management Departs Over Novatek Financing Claims

The leadership team of Polar Train LNG, a planned $25 billion gas export venture in northern Alaska, has largely vacated its positions. The exodus follows allegations that Russia’s Novatek secretly financed and directed the company’s operations prior to receiving formal US government authorization.

Joel Riddle, the project’s former chief executive, stated he resigned in September because he felt Novatek was financing and controlling the strategic direction of the company. Riddle told the Financial Times that he originally believed the project’s funding came from Gentry Beach and Tech Wave, an Abu Dhabi based firm. He later determined that Beach was neither a shareholder nor an executive of the venture.

The project, launched in March, involves relocating a partially built Novatek terminal to Alaska. Riddle said he discovered that Novatek was already directing operations before the US Treasury Department granted permission for the company to negotiate with the Russian group. That approval has not yet been issued. Following Riddle’s departure in September, Chief Financial Officer Dan Chandra and other executives also left the organization.

Riddle said, “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.” The Financial Times reviewed WhatsApp messages in which Denis Solovyov, a Novatek board member, discussed financing the project and urged for a faster transfer of funds.

Polar Train LNG rejected the allegations, stating that Riddle was dismissed and labeling him a “disgruntled employee.” The company insists the project is being developed in compliance with US law. Novatek responded by saying it signed a memorandum with Polar Train in April to allow Tech Wave to use its technology in Alaska. At the time of that agreement, Riddle was still serving as chief executive.

Sources familiar with the matter said the project emerged during business talks between Washington and Moscow aimed at ending Russia’s war against Ukraine. These discussions reportedly included a potential swap where Novatek would provide expertise for the Alaska terminal in exchange for sanctions relief on Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project. In February 2026, reports indicated that Gentry Beach, a university friend of Donald Trump Jr., had announced a separate agreement with Novatek on an Alaska gas project.