Greenland issues ‘strong warning’ over Arctic drilling by Trump-linked firm

A US oil company with links to people in President Donald Trump's political circle has begun moving drilling equipment ashore in Greenland's remote Jameson Land region, despite not having received approval from the local authorities, according to a report by The Guardian. The development comes as Trump continues to push for greater US control over Greenland, the semi-autonomous territory of Denmark that Washington considers strategically important because of its Arctic location, mineral resources and military significance. The Greenland government has issued a "strong warning" over the arrival of the equipment, saying the company had not been granted permission to carry out the logistical operation. "All future logistical matters must be advised and approved by the mineral resources authority – before they are carried out," the government said in a statement. The company, Greenland Energy, is a Texas-based firm established last year. Its executives have claimed that as much as $1 trillion worth of crude oil could lie beneath the Jameson Land region and have announced plans to spend $60 million on drilling to determine the area's potential. Greenland has not approved the drilling operation Greenland stopped issuing new oil exploration licences in 2021 on environmental grounds. However, a UK company, 80 Mile, already holds exploration rights in Jameson Land. According to corporate filings cited by The Guardian, Greenland Energy plans to acquire a majority stake in the project in return for financing the exploration. The company still requires approval from Greenlandic authorities before drilling can begin. The dispute escalated after a tug and barge were seen moving towards the sparsely populated Jameson Land region and unloading about a dozen containers of equipment. "The goal was to get the equipment onshore at Nunap Qeqqa [Jameson Land] in connection with planned oil exploration drilling," the Greenland government said. The Danish investigative outlet Danwatch reported that the head of the shipping company confirmed the delivery was for Greenland Energy. The Guardian also reported that a company representative had previously claimed during a community meeting in June that Greenland Energy had permission to land drilling equipment. The company's chair and major shareholder, Larry Swets, later said, "Our enthusiasm for the project led us to communicate in a way that created confusion." Greenland's government said it would not be proportionate to demand that the equipment be removed, while noting that an application for permission remained under consideration. In a letter to shareholders, Greenland Energy said recent meetings with Greenlandic regulators had been "constructive" and that it remained encouraged by progress towards obtaining the approvals required for drilling. It said the company would initially drill one well instead of two. The company has said a vessel carrying 300 shipping containers of drilling equipment is scheduled to leave Canada on September 12, with drilling expected to begin in October. Project intersects with Trump's Greenland ambitions The oil project comes against the backdrop of Trump's repeated calls for the United States to control Greenland. Trump has argued that Greenland is important to US national security because of its location in the Arctic and North Atlantic. During comments to reporters in Turkey last month, he said Greenland "should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark". Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen rejected the demand, saying Greenland was not for sale and that its sovereignty should be respected. Greenland's foreign minister Mute Egede has also said the territory's future should be decided by its people. As a self-governing territory of Denmark, Greenland's elected authorities control decisions concerning its natural resources. That puts the Greenland Energy project in a politically sensitive position as Washington continues to seek greater influence over the territory. Swets has denied that the oil project is connected to American annexation efforts. The company has also attracted figures with links to Trump's political and security circles. It has retained television personality Phil McGraw, better known as Dr Phil, who previously served on Trump's religious freedom commission, to make a documentary series about the project. Greenland Energy has also appointed a US Navy veteran involved in Trump's Golden Dome missile-defence programme as a director. Trump has described control of Greenland as "vital" to that wider security strategy. Why Greenland matters to the US Greenland's importance goes well beyond its potential oil reserves. The island lies between North America and Europe and is strategically positioned across the Greenland-Iceland-UK, or GIUK, gap, a key maritime area for monitoring Russian naval movements in the North Atlantic. The US already maintains a military presence there through Pituffik Space Base in north-western Greenland. The base supports missile warning, missile defence and space surveillance operations for the US and Nato, according to the news agency Associated Press. Greenland is also rich in minerals, including rare earth elements that are important for electronics, batteries and other advanced technologies. The potential availability of such resources has increased interest from the US and other Western countries seeking to reduce dependence on China. Climate change has added another strategic dimension. Melting Arctic ice is opening previously inaccessible routes and making the region increasingly important for trade, energy and competition among the US, Russia, China and European countries. Trump has repeatedly cited Russia and China when making the case for greater US control of Greenland, although, as per news agency AP, he has made false claims about Russian and Chinese military forces operating off the island's coast. Drilling plans face environmental and political questions Greenland's decision on the oil project could prove difficult. The planned drilling area appears to fall within a conservation zone protected under the Ramsar Convention on wetlands. Approving the project could open the door to oil exploration in an environmentally sensitive region at a time when Greenland has previously moved away from issuing new oil licences. Rejecting it, meanwhile, could add another point of friction to an already sensitive debate over US ambitions in the territory. The immediate issue, however, remains whether Greenland Energy can proceed with drilling without the necessary regulatory clearances. For now, Greenlandic authorities have indicated that the application is still being processed, even as equipment has already been moved ashore. The episode therefore puts the spotlight not only on the territory's potential oil wealth but also on who has the authority to decide how Greenland's natural resources are developed, an increasingly consequential question as Trump continues to argue that the Arctic territory is vital to US interests.