Report: U.S. Alaska LNG project developer receives funding support from Russia's Novatek

Media reports: The developer of a liquefied natural gas facility project in Alaska, USA, has obtained financial backing from Russian energy giant Novatek, a company that is under US sanctions. The newspaper, citing an interview with former project CEO Joel Riddle, reported that Novatek provided funding to the Polar Train LNG project and took the lead in project operations before the US Department of the Treasury obtained the required permits. Information from a separate media interview showed that Riddle resigned last month, and several executives subsequently left one after another. Polar LNG said in a statement on Friday that Riddle is a disgruntled former employee who has been dismissed. The company said: Project development work complied with relevant US laws throughout. The statement said the company has submitted a permit application to the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control and plans to acquire from Novatek an unfinished gravity-based platform structure, which is a component of the LNG facility.