Greenland Hits Trump-Linked Oil Firm With ‘Strong Warning’ as Company Lands Drilling Equipment

Sergi Reboredo/VWPics via AP Images & Andrea Renault/STAR MAX/IPx

Greenland’s government has issued a “strong warning” after a Trump-linked American oil company brought drilling equipment ashore without approval as it prepares to explore for potentially vast oil reserves on the Arctic island.

Greenland Energy, a Texas company established last year, plans to drill in the remote Jameson Land region, where its executives claim as much as $1 trillion worth of crude oil may be buried.

Greenland authorities, however, said they do not have permission to proceed, and slammed the company after equipment intended for the project was unloaded on the island’s eastern coast last week.

“All future logistical matters must be advised and approved by the mineral resources authority – before they are carried out,” Greenland’s government said.

The dispute comes amid repeated demands from President Donald Trump to bring the semi-autonomous Danish territory under U.S. control. Two days after Greenland’s warning last week, Trump posted an AI-generated image on Truth Social depicting himself looming over a Greenlandic village, with the caption: “Hello Greenland.”

(Screengrab via Truth Social)

Greenland stopped issuing new oil licenses in 2021 over environmental concerns, but British company 80 Mile previously secured exploration rights in Jameson Land. Corporate filings show Greenland Energy plans to acquire a majority stake in that project in return for financing exploration, subject to government approval.

The company has proposed spending $60 million on exploratory drilling. It told shareholders on Thursday that “recent high-level meetings between project leadership and Greenlandic regulatory and oversight authorities have been constructive, and we continue to be encouraged by the progress being made toward the remaining approvals required for drilling.”

In breaking the story, The Guardian reported that Greenland Energy’s board includes individuals linked to Trump, including a U.S. Navy veteran involved in Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense project, and the company’s chairman, Larry Swets.

Swets, however, insisted the project is “not related to American annexation.” A representative has said a vessel carrying 300 containers of drilling equipment is expected to leave Canada on September 12, with drilling planned for October.

Greenland’s government said an application for permission remains under consideration and that forcing the company to remove the equipment already landed “would not be proportionate.”

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