Trump: Greenland Energy delays oil drilling in Jameson Land Basin

A Texas-based company with links to President Donald Trump has delayed plans to drill for oil in Greenland, after the Arctic island’s government issued a “strong warning” to its joint venture partner for bringing equipment ashore without permission.

Greenland Energy Company, a Nasdaq-listed oil and gas exploration firm, said Wednesday that it was now working toward a targeted permit timeline for winter 2027, delaying its plans to try to unlock the hydrocarbon potential of the Jameson Land Basin on Greenland’s east coast.

London-listed 80 Mile, the joint venture partner of Greenland Energy for the project, also confirmed the delay to drilling plans following talks with Greenlandic authorities.

“Operating in the Arctic requires patience, flexibility and a long-term perspective. We will use this time to refine our plans and deepen relationships with local communities, strategic partners and relevant authorities,” Greenland Energy Company CEO Robert Price said in a statement.

80 Mile holds the licenses and runs the permitting through its wholly owned subsidiary, White Flame Energy. The exploration licenses were granted before Greenland stopped issuing new licenses in 2021, citing the worsening climate crisis.

The project delay comes two weeks after Greenland’s government issued a sharp rebuke to White Flame Energy for failing to get permission from local authorities to bring drilling equipment to the island’s east coast.

Greenland Energy Company and 80 Mile both confirmed to CNBC that the companies received a formal warning from Greenland’s government.

The notice from Greenland’s government to 80 Mile concerned the landing of drilling equipment near the strategically important Nerlerit Inaat airport, a transport hub regarded as the gateway to northeast Greenland.

Ahead of the landing of equipment, Greenland Energy and 80 Mile said they had permission from and entered into a contract to lease storage space within an existing Greenland Airports storage area near the port but were unaware that this arrangement required a separate permit from the mineral resources authority.

Greenland’s government said late last month that White Flame Energy did not have the necessary approvals before initiating this operation.

Greenland Energy and 80 Mile said in a joint statement that they “take the warning very seriously and note it in full.” They added that they intend to “work closely” with Greenlandic authorities going forward.

80 Mile holds three licences for exploration and possible exploitation of oil in the Jameson Land Basin. Greenland Energy is funding the costs associated with managing two exploration wells.

Shares of Greenland Energy closed more than 44% lower on Wednesday, while 80 Mile shares were down over 20%.

The push to explore the oil potential of the Jameson Land Basin comes as Trump has renewed his push to acquire Greenland.

Greenland Energy has links to several people and businesses associated with the Trump administration.

Board member Carol Craig founded a defense-tech company involved in a Pentagon contracting program supporting Trump’s Golden Dome missile-defense initiative.

The company also has a documentary deal with Envoy Media, founded by “Dr. Phil” McGraw, who spoke at a Trump rally in 2024 and serves on the president’s Religious Liberty Commission.

Larry Swets, an entrepreneur and the chairman of Greenland Energy, has been reported to be close to the Trump administration. According to the Guardian, Price was asked during a meeting on the Jameson Land Basin in June whether Swets had links to Trump and replied: “Not that I know of.”

Greenland Energy, which was formed through a SPAC merger in March, says its primary mission is to unlock the frontier oil potential of the Jameson Land Basin, a roughly 2-million-acre onshore licensed area.

It describes the area as one of, if not the last, highly prospective yet completely undrilled basins in the world, with clear genetic links to the North Sea and a scale comparable to many of the world’s major producing regions.

Lewis Lawrence, senior research analyst of Europe upstream at Wood Mackenzie, said there is clearly potential associated with the area, noting the geology appears to be genetically similar to the mid-Norwegian shelf, “which obviously is one of the hotbeds of oil and gas activity.”

But past attempts to drill in promising spots in Greenland have failed, he added.

“There has been exploration in Greenland in the past [and] that’s all been unsuccessful. So, 21 wells, most of them offshore, and they have all been unsuccessful wells. There’s been hundreds of millions of dollars wasted, particularly on offshore drilling, which is significantly more expensive,” Lawrence told CNBC in a phone interview.

“So, companies have had a look. They’ve come, they’ve drilled, they’ve not found anything and they’ve left.”

Lawrence also said there would be logistical challenges on the basin, which he called one of the most remote drilling sites in the world.