Polar LNG Executives Resign Over Alleged Novatek Funding and Control

Top executives at U.S. energy startup Polar LNG have resigned amid concerns that Russia's largest LNG developer, Novatek, was funding and directing the venture, raising potential U.S. sanctions issues. The departures came roughly six months after the company launched. Joel Riddle, who resigned as CEO in September, told the Financial Times he left because he was uncomfortable that Novatek was financing and ultimately controlling the company's strategic direction without authorization from the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Polar LNG said Riddle was terminated for cause and that development activities are being pursued in full compliance with U.S. law. Polar LNG, created in March 2026, proposes a North Slope, Alaska, project using a modular gravity-based structure and plans to buy an unfinished unit from Novatek. It has applied to OFAC for a license, but sources say no progress has been made. The U.S. has not sanctioned Novatek but blacklisted its Arctic LNG-2 project in 2023.