A Texas-based oil company chaired by an entrepreneur thought to be close to U.S. President Donald Trump is moving drilling equipment in Greenland in preparation for an oil drilling campaign.<\/p>\n
However, the drilling plans or the moving of the equipment have not been authorized by the Greenland authorities yet, although a process to do so is under review at present.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why Greenland\u2019s government has recently said<\/a> a strong warning would be sent to the licensee \u201cwith a warning that all future logistical matters must be advised and approved by the mineral resources authority \u2013 before they are carried out.\u201d<\/p>\n The licensee is London-listed company 80 Mile, but its partner in the operation is U.S. Greenland Energy Company<\/a>, which has said it will fund 100% of the costs associated with\u00a0up to two exploration wells, designed to delineate the hydrocarbon potential of a project in the Jameson Land Basin.<\/p>\n Larry Swets, Jr., believed to be close to President Trump, is chairman of the board at Greenland Energy.<\/p>\n This weekend, Swets reposted<\/a> on X on the issue with the lack of authorization with a \u201cwell said\u201d commentary on a post that an article in The Guardian was \u201cseemingly determined to manufacture a Trump controversy while burying the facts\u201d about 80 Mile and Greenland Energy.<\/p>\n The Greenland government said in its statement that no approval was granted at the time of the moving of the equipment. But authorities noted that \u201can approval to move drilling equipment has since expired and has not been renewed, but is under consideration.\u201d<\/p>\n In a letter to shareholders last week, Greenland Energy said<\/a> it \u201chas continued advancing preparations for what we believe will be one of the most significant onshore exploration programs undertaken in Greenland in decades.\u201d<\/p>\n 80 Mile Plc, the licensee of the Jameson Land joint venture, continues to lead the permitting process and stakeholder engagement. Greenland Energy, for its part, \u201cremains actively engaged in supporting technical planning, operational readiness, logistics, and overall project coordination.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTogether, our objective is to ensure that once all required approvals are received, the project is positioned to commence drilling safely, efficiently, and in accordance with Greenland’s rigorous regulatory standards,\u201d Greenland Energy said.<\/p>\n \u201cRecent 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,\u201d the company told shareholders.<\/p>\n Following discussions with government officials, the parties agreed that concentrating the 2026-2027 Winter program on one exploration well, rather than pursuing two wells during the current field season, represents the most responsible course of action, Greenland Energy said.\u00a0 Related: Egypt and Libya Near $1 Billion Oil Pipeline Deal<\/a><\/p>\n Greenland has seen oil exploration since the 1970s involving major oil firms, including ExxonMobil, Shell, and Eni. None has resulted in a major discovery.<\/p>\n If Greenland Energy\u2019s project moves to drilling, it would be the first in Greenland in many years and a potential restart of oil exploration in Denmark\u2019s autonomous territory that\u2019s the size of about a fourth of the continental U.S.<\/p>\n Greenland is estimated to hold oil and gas resources, as well as critical minerals and rare earth elements\u2014all of which could be great assets to its holders.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s only in theory.<\/p>\n In practice, Greenland\u2019s resources are extremely expensive and hard to extract. The lack of energy infrastructure or any processing capabilities puts in doubt the feasibility and economic rationale of trying to mine rare earths and critical minerals, analysts say.<\/p>\n Following 50 years of unsuccessful and sporadic exploration in the inhospitable Arctic climate and waters, Greenland\u00a0abandoned<\/a> the quest for oil in 2021. Back then, the government of Greenland said that it considered that the environmental concerns were far greater than the potential benefits of becoming an oil producer.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite its hydrocarbon and critical mineral potential, Greenland is not Venezuela 2.0.,\u201d Wood Mackenzie\u2019s top analysts\u00a0say<\/a>, noting that the large island is remote, inhospitable, underexplored, difficult to explore, and very high cost.<\/p>\n Major oil companies have seen harsh operating environments, but Greenland is on another level, WoodMac\u2019s Simon Flowers and Gavin Thompson wrote.<\/p>\n Short summers, thick ice requiring icebreakers and specialized offshore equipment for surveys or exploration, and\u00a0fewer than 100 miles of paved roads, although its territory is about 25% of the size of the continental U.S., discourage resource development offshore and onshore Greenland.<\/p>\n Throughout its decades-long history of exploration, Greenland has seen just 25 exploration wells drilled, predominantly in the Southwest basin. Each was unsuccessful, Wood Mackenzie notes.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com<\/p>\n