This prompted the Greenland government to issue a “strict warning” that permission to unload this equipment had not been granted.
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“All future logistics actions must be notified in advance to the mineral resources authority and must be approved by it – before they are carried out,” the Greenland government stated.
Executives of the Texas-based company Greenland Energy, established last year, claim that there may be oil worth 1 trillion USD in the Jameson Land region. The company announced plans to allocate 60 million dollars to drill two wells to verify this assumption.
Although Greenland stopped issuing new oil extraction licenses in 2021 for environmental reasons, the UK company 80 Mile had previously obtained exploration rights in the Jameson Land area.
Greenland Energy’s corporate documents state that the company will acquire a controlling stake in the project in exchange for financing the exploration. However, Greenland government approval is still required for the work to begin.
Greenland Energy also hired Phil McGraw, better known as Dr. Phil – a famous conservative former talk show host who served on Trump’s religious freedom commission. He will create a documentary series that, according to the company, should “capture the mission of these modern oil seekers.”
The company also appointed a US Navy veteran involved in the Golden Dome missile defense project to its board. Trump has stated that Greenland’s control over this project is “vital.”
In June, during a meeting with the Jameson Land local community, a company representative mistakenly claimed that the company had permission to unload drilling equipment.
The following month, residents of the sparsely populated region noticed a truck towing a barge toward the shore, from which about a dozen containers were unloaded.
“The purpose was to unload equipment in the Nunap Qeqqa [Jameson Land] area in preparation for planned oil exploration wells,” the Greenland government statement said.
The Danish investigative journalism outlet Danwatch quoted a shipping company executive confirming that the cargo was intended for Greenland Energy.
Greenland Energy declined to answer questions from The Guardian.
In a letter sent to shareholders on Thursday, the company stated: “Recent high-level project management meetings with Greenland regulatory and supervisory authorities have been constructive, and we remain encouraged by progress toward obtaining the remaining permits required for drilling operations.”
The company also indicated that only one well will be drilled initially after these discussions.
Greenland is a semi-autonomous Danish territory, so decisions about its natural resources depend on locally elected politicians. They now face a difficult choice.
They can allow oil drilling, although the planned drilling sites appear to fall within a Ramsar Convention protected wetland area. Or they can deny permission – which some observers fear could give Trump a pretext to further pursue his expansionist agenda.
The Greenland government statement said that demanding the removal of already delivered equipment would be a “disproportionate measure.” It also noted that the permit application is still under review.
A Greenland Energy representative said that a ship carrying 300 containers of the company’s drilling equipment from Canada is expected to depart on September 12.
Drilling operations are planned to begin in October.
Jeff Landry, the Louisiana governor with strong right-wing views acting as Trump’s envoy on Greenland issues, has stated that oil could be extracted in Greenland as early as next year.
