# Sanctioned Russian gas producer Novatek secretly financed an Alaska LNG project discussed in US-Russia talks, New York Times reports

Polar LNG's former chief executive resigned in September after learning of the Russian money and says he warned Trump administration officials.

- Published: 2026-10-25T05:18:39.834Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-10-25/sanctioned-russian-gas-producer-novatek-secretly-financed-an
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: geopolitics
- Sources: [Kyiv Independent](https://kyivindependent.com/sanctioned-russian-energy-giant-secretly-funded-us-gas-project-nyt-reports/), [Meduza (Russian)](https://meduza.io/news/2026/02/20/nyt-blizkiy-k-semie-trampa-investor-rasskazal-o-soglashenii-s-novatekom-o-razrabotke-mestorozhdeniya-prirodnogo-gaza-na-alyaske), [The Moscow Times (Russian)](https://ru.themoscowtimes.com/2026/03/31/gazovyy-proekt-na-alyaske-khochet-kupit-oborudovanie-u-rossiyskogo-arktik-spg-2-a191267)

Novatek, Russia's second-largest producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), secretly funded Polar LNG, an American company planning to liquefy and export gas from Alaska, The New York Times reported on October 23. The report was [summarized by the Kyiv Independent](https://kyivindependent.com/sanctioned-russian-energy-giant-secretly-funded-us-gas-project-nyt-reports/). The United States has sanctioned Novatek since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, so the funding may have broken sanctions. According to the Times' sources, the project was part of an energy deal that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner discussed during their September visit to the Kremlin. The report does not establish whether either envoy knew of the financial link.

John Riddle, Polar LNG's former chief executive, resigned in September after learning of the hidden ties to Novatek. He says he told Trump administration officials about the Russian financing and urged them to investigate.

The arrangement has a public history. In February, Russian-language outlet Meduza reported that Gentry Beach, an investor close to the Trump family, [told the Times he had reached an agreement with Novatek](https://meduza.io/news/2026/02/20/nyt-blizkiy-k-semie-trampa-investor-rasskazal-o-soglashenii-s-novatekom-o-razrabotke-mestorozhdeniya-prirodnogo-gaza-na-alyaske) to develop an Alaskan gas field using a mobile liquefaction unit being built at Novatek's site in the Murmansk region. In March, the Russian edition of The Moscow Times reported that Polar LNG [wanted to buy equipment from Novatek's sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project](https://ru.themoscowtimes.com/2026/03/31/gazovyy-proekt-na-alyaske-khochet-kupit-oborudovanie-u-rossiyskogo-arktik-spg-2-a191267). It had applied to the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for permission. The first phase was expected to cost $8 billion to $9 billion, with an investment decision in mid-2027 and first production in 2029 or 2030.

Each party has its own reason to promote a particular version. Kyiv-based outlets present the deal as evidence that Washington is trading sanctions enforcement for commercial gain. Moscow has an interest in giving US officials a financial stake in a settlement. For Washington, the deal would mean more US LNG exports and Alaskan jobs.

## What this means

The mechanism is energy business used as a bargaining chip in the Ukraine negotiations. Russia can find a buyer for equipment stranded at Arctic LNG 2, and US partners can gain access to cheaper hardware, but only if sanctions are relaxed. The most exposed are European LNG buyers, who are paying to replace Russian gas, and US LNG developers competing for the same capital and customers without Russian help. The precedent is Nord Stream 2. In May 2021, Washington waived sanctions on the pipeline's operator for diplomatic reasons, and the waiver lasted until Russia's 2022 invasion made it politically impossible to keep. The likelier outcome is that the report makes an OFAC license for Polar LNG's Russian equipment harder to grant over the coming months, without ending talks about energy-for-peace deals. The read is wrong if Treasury grants the license or a broader waiver anyway. That would show that sanctions now give way to commercial interests in the negotiations.

## What to watch

- Whether congressional committees ask Treasury for records on Polar LNG's license application. Oversight would raise the political cost of any waiver.
- Any statement from Novatek or the Kremlin on the report. Silence or denial would show how far Moscow wants to keep the Alaska deal on the table.
- Whether energy cooperation appears in the next round of US-Russia talks. This would show whether commercial deals remain part of the Ukraine settlement package.