EL7.AI
CommoditiesMedium•25 October 2026•
4 min read

Russian Funding Allegations Shadow Polar LNG as Leaders Depart and 2030 Gas Deliveries Come Into Focus

Key Facts

1Messages discussed providing up to $15 million to Tech Wave, including an expected initial transfer of $5 million, according to Alaska News, citing The New York Times.
2Riddle said he left his post in September, followed by officials including Chief Financial Officer Dan Chandra and Executive Vice President Jim Smith.
3Polar LNG is targeting the start of gas deliveries by the end of 2030, subject to permits, financing, engineering and development requirements.
4The company said Tuckington has more than 30 years of experience, including more than 17 years at Goldman Sachs, and led its bank in Russia until August 2022.

Joel Riddle, the former chief executive of the Polar Train LNG project, said Russia’s Novatek provided some of the project’s start-up funding and influenced its strategic direction before U.S. approvals were completed, according to Alaska News, citing The New York Times and the Financial Times. The allegations put the financing and technical ties of a proposed Alaska gas project under scrutiny, but the company denied wrongdoing and said development work complies with U.S. law. Alaska News, citing The New York Times, reported that messages reviewed by the newspaper showed discussions about providing up to $15 million to Tech Wave to support Polar LNG, including an expected initial transfer of $5 million. The messages alone do not establish that the sums were actually transferred or that Russian funding violated sanctions. The U.S. Treasury Department has not publicly said whether the reported financing breached restrictions, and no court ruling has addressed the matter.

Riddle said he left his post in September and that most of the senior leadership team later departed, including Chief Financial Officer Dan Chandra and Executive Vice President Jim Smith, according to Alaska News, citing the Financial Times. The company gave a different account of Riddle’s departure, saying he was fired for cause after resigning and that it was investigating claims involving him that could lead to litigation. The company described him as a disgruntled former employee, framing the allegations as part of a public dispute between the parties. Available materials do not include an independent ruling resolving the truth of Riddle’s allegations or the company’s account. Polar LNG announced the appointment of Tim Tuckington as interim chief executive of Polar Train LNG and said it would announce a permanent chief executive later.

Polar LNG said Tuckington has more than 30 years of investment banking experience, including more than 17 years at Goldman Sachs. It added that he served as chief executive of Goldman Sachs in Russia until August 2022. His appointment comes as several senior executives have departed and the company presents its project to U.S. investors and partners. The company said Tech Wave provided funding to Polar LNG and began preliminary engineering work with U.S. contractors. It added that the project is seeking U.S. investors and partners to carry it out.

Novatek’s connection to the project centers on technology and proposed construction equipment. The Russian company said it granted Tech Wave the right to use its technologies in Alaska and signed a memorandum of understanding with Polar Train in April, adding that the project requires U.S. and Russian approvals. Polar LNG announced that it had submitted an application to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for a license authorizing the purchase of an unfinished gravity-based structure from Novatek. Novatek has been subject to targeted U.S. restrictions since 2014, while Washington added Arctic LNG 2, the company-operated project, to the entities targeted by sanctions on November 2, 2023. The license application and approval process give the technical relationship practical significance, while its legal effect on the financing remains an allegation that no official body has publicly resolved.

According to Alaska News, the Polar project differs from the larger Alaska LNG project led by Glenfarne: Polar is a proposed coastal facility near the North Slope, while the other project includes a planned 807-mile pipeline to transport gas to Nikiski. The difference means the two projects should not be treated as a single asset or assigned one another’s timelines. Alaska LNG projects are subject to existing permitting processes, and the state Department of Environmental Conservation says a construction permit may take a year or more after it receives a complete application. October 2026 notices from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources also showed proceedings concerning the transfer of conditional right-of-way contracts for Alaska LNG, the separate project led by Glenfarne. Those proceedings do not set a timetable for Polar’s permits.

Polar LNG is targeting the start of gas deliveries by the end of 2030, according to the company’s announcement, but has tied that date to obtaining permits and financing and completing engineering and other development requirements. The company said preliminary engineering work had begun with funding from Tech Wave and participation by U.S. contractors, and that it was seeking U.S. investors and partners. This means the announced timeline depends on completing regulatory, financing and engineering steps; it is not a guaranteed date. The U.S. license application to buy a structure from Novatek remains one of the matters the company is pursuing as part of development. The company did not specify in its announcement when a decision on the application would be made or provide a more detailed timeline for approvals.