American investor Gentry Beach, who has ties to the family of U.S. President Donald Trump, told The New York Times that he has entered into a nonpublic agreement with the Russian company Novatek to develop a gas field in Alaska.
According to Beach, the project envisages the use of a mobile liquefied natural gas production unit that is currently being built at a Novatek facility in Russia’s Murmansk region.
The investor said the initiative remains at an early stage and faces a number of obstacles. He added that he is not prepared to disclose further details at this point.
Beach said the arrangements were reached in 2025 during meetings in Dubai and Europe with Novatek’s chief executive, Leonid Mikhelson. The newspaper notes that Mikhelson is not included on U.S. or European Union sanctions lists.
“It’s time for all of us to work together,” Beach said, describing himself as a “bearer of peace.”
The investor is a friend of Donald Trump Jr.—the eldest son of the sitting U.S. president. They previously pursued joint business ventures; however, Beach said Trump Jr. has no connection to the potential deal with Novatek. He also said that he is not doing business with the Trump family at all at present.
Novatek’s press service told the U.S. outlet that the company is “indeed holding discussions on the potential use” of its technologies for liquefying natural gas in Alaska. At the same time, the company did not confirm cooperation specifically with Beach and stressed that any arrangements could be implemented “only with the support of the authorities of the United States and Russia.”
If Beach’s claims are borne out, The New York Times notes, this would mark the first instance in several years of a major U.S. investor entering into agreements with a Russian company.
At the same time, the newspaper stresses that U.S. business more broadly remains wary of working with Russia, despite efforts by the Russian authorities to change that perception. The NYT also recalls that in the autumn of 2025, the Trump administration imposed new, tough sanctions on Russian oil companies.