US$25 billion: The cost of the Alaska gas venture losing its management

The leadership team of Polar Train LNG has vacated the company. The group is developing a gas export terminal in northern Alaska with a planned cost of $25 billion. Departures followed reports that Russia's Novatek secretly financed the venture.

Joel Riddle, the former chief executive, told the Financial Times that he raised concerns about potential violations of US sanctions. He resigned in September. Chief financial officer Dan Chandra and other senior staff left shortly after.

Riddle stated that he believed initial funding came from Gentry Beach and Tech Wave. Gentry Beach is an investor with ties to the Trump family. Tech Wave is based in Abu Dhabi. Riddle later determined that Beach was neither a shareholder nor an executive in the project. He discovered that Novatek was providing capital and directing operations before the US Treasury Department granted permission to negotiate.

"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.

The Financial Times reviewed WhatsApp messages showing Denis Solovyov, a Novatek board member, discussing financing. Solovyov urged for faster transfers of money to Polar Train LNG. The company rejected the allegations. It stated that Riddle was dismissed and described him as a disgruntled employee. The firm insisted the project aligns with US law.

Novatek said it agreed to let Tech Wave use its technology in Alaska. The companies signed a memorandum in April while Riddle was still leading the firm. The project was launched in March. It involves relocating a partially built Novatek terminal to Alaska.

Sources told the newspaper that the project appeared in business talks between Washington and Moscow. These discussions aimed to end Russia's war against Ukraine. Reports from October 9 indicated Russia sought sanctions relief as part of an energy ceasefire. A February 2026 report by Ekonomichna Pravda, citing The New York Times, noted that Gentry Beach had announced an agreement with Novatek regarding the Alaska gas project.