美高管集体出走250亿美元阿拉斯加天然气项目：前CEO指称俄气巨头秘密出资并幕后操控
图：阿拉斯加输油管道，资料图。Wikimedia Commons文件页：File:Trans-Alaska Pipeline System Luca Galuzzi 2005.jpg；作者Luca Galuzzi；CC BY-SA 2.5
伦敦——据英国《金融时报》10月24日报道，价值250亿美元的阿拉斯加液化天然气项目Polar Train LNG（现称Polar LNG）陷入动荡：多名美国高管相继离职，原因是他们指称俄罗斯天然气巨头诺瓦泰克（Novatek）在未经美国批准的情况下秘密出资并控制了该项目。前首席执行官乔尔·里德尔（Joel Riddle）对《金融时报》说，他发现诺瓦泰克已经在为项目出资并主导运营，而当时公司尚未获得美国财政部制裁许可就与这家俄罗斯公司谈判。里德尔于9月辞职，随后首席财务官丹·钱德拉（Dan Chandra）、执行副总裁吉姆·史密斯（Jim Smith）、项目执行经理乔迪·特兰瑟姆（Jody Trantham）等高管相继离职。
里德尔说，他最初以为项目资金来自投资人格林特里·比奇（Gentry Beach）与阿布扎比的Tech Wave工业项目管理公司，但后来认定诺瓦泰克才是提供资金并最终控制公司战略方向的一方。Polar LNG公司否认了这些指称，称里德尔是一名“心怀不满的员工”，系因故被解雇；公司表示，Tech Wave提供了资金并启动了美国承包商参与的前期工程，项目正在寻求美国投资者与实施伙伴，开发活动遵守美
国法律。诺瓦泰克方面表示，该公司授予Tech Wave在阿拉斯加使用其技术的权利，并于4月与Polar Train签署了谅解备忘录，当时里德尔仍任首席执行官；诺瓦泰克称，任何大型项目都需要美国与俄罗斯双方批准，并否认“只有获得对北极LNG 2项目的制裁豁免才提供技术”的说法。
Polar LNG官网发布的声明还显示，公司已向美国财政部外国资产控制办公室提交申请，请求许可购买诺瓦泰克一座未完工的重力式结构（GBS）；夏季野外工作已经完成，项目目标是在获得许可、融资、工程等条件满足的前提下，于2030年底前开始交付天然气。该项目位于阿拉斯加北坡，规划利用北极航线缩短向亚洲市场运送天然气的时间 。上述出资与控制指称为当事人向媒体的单方面说法，尚未经美国官方证实，公司与诺瓦泰克均否认存在违规行为。
（GSM据《金融时报》经Traders Union转述及Polar LNG官网声明综合整理）
U.S. Executives Quit $25 Billion Alaska Gas Venture as Ex-CEO Alleges Secret Russian Funding and Control
LONDON — The $25 billion Alaska liquefied natural gas venture Polar Train LNG, now called Polar LNG, is in turmoil after several U.S. executives quit over claims that Russian gas giant Novatek secretly financed and controlled the project without U.S. approval, the Financial Times reported on October 24. Former chief executive Joel Riddle told the newspaper he discovered Novatek was already financing the venture and directing operations before the company had obtained permission from U.S. Treasury sanctions authorities to negotiate with the Russian group. Riddle resigned in September, followed by chief financial officer Dan Chandra, executive vice-president Jim Smith, execution manager Jody Trantham and other senior executives.
Riddle said he initially believed the project was funded by investor Gentry Beach and Abu Dhabi-based Tech Wave Industrial Projects Management, but later concluded Novatek was providing the capital and ultimately controlling the company's strategic direction. Polar LNG rejected the claims, calling Riddle a "disgruntled employee" who was terminated for cause; the company said Tech Wave had provided financing and started preliminary engineering work involving U.S. contractors, that the project was seeking American investors and implementation partners, and that development activities complied with U.S. law. Novatek said it had granted Tech Wave the right to use its technology in Alaska and signed a memorandum of understanding with Polar Train in April, when Riddle was chief executive; the Russian group said any large-scale project would require approvals from both U.S. and Russian authorities, and denied that access to its technology depended on sanctions relief for Arctic LNG 2.
A statement on Polar LNG's website also says the company has applied to the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control for a licence to buy an unfinished gravity-based structure from Novatek, that summer fieldwork has been completed, and that the project targets first gas deliveries by the end of 2030, subject to permits, financing, engineering and other requirements. The project is on Alaska's North Slope, where an Arctic location could shorten shipping routes to Asian markets. The financing and control claims are allegations made by the former executives to the media and have not been confirmed by U.S. authorities; both the company and Novatek deny wrongdoing.
(GSM, from the Financial Times via Traders Union and Polar LNG's official statement)
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：阿拉斯加输油管道，资料图。照片：Luca Galuzzi，CC BY-SA 2.5，经Wikimedia Commons。 / The Trans-Alaska Pipeline (file photo). Photo: Luca Galuzzi, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.
