A Texas-based oil company with ties to President Trump, called Greenland Energy, is reportedly readying resources to begin drilling in a remote area of Greenland even though it does not yet have permission to do so from the Greenland government and local officials. Locals living in the remote area of Greenland\u2019s Nunap Qeqqa, or Jameson Land, have reported seeing drilling equipment being brought ashore and unloaded in the region in recent weeks and the Greenland government issued a \u201cstrong warning\u201d against unauthorized actions in the area in a statement<\/a> in late July.<\/p>\n \u201cAll future logistical matters must be advised and approved by the mineral resources authority \u2014 before they are carried out,\u201d the Greenland government said, per The Guardian\u2019s translation of this statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n An \u2018Unprecedented Arctic Energy Initiative\u2019<\/p>\n Executives for Greenland Energy have said<\/a> that they plan to embark on an \u201cunprecedented Arctic energy initiative\u201d in Jameson Land, claiming they have reason to believe that $1 trillion worth of crude oil may lie beneath the surface. The company has been posting regular announcements <\/a>about its Jameson Land drilling campaign since April of this year. I sifted through them this afternoon to get a clearer picture of some of The Guardian\u2019s reporting. The company has said it plans to spend $60 million drilling two wells in the area, though it appears that has since been scaled back to include just one well.<\/p>\n The issue is that Greenland has not issued new licenses for oil drilling since 2021. It appears as though the Texas-based group is working with 80 Mile, a UK company that has rights to drill in Jameson Land. In an Aug. 6 letter<\/a> from Greenland Energy\u2019s management and board of directors to shareholders, executives unpack the arrangement between the company and 80 Miles a bit, putting the onus for regulatory permissions on the UK-based firm. Per the letter:<\/p>\n While\u00a080 Mile Plc, as licensee of the Jameson Land joint venture, continues to lead the permitting process and stakeholder engagement, Greenland Energy remains actively engaged in supporting technical planning, operational readiness, logistics, and overall project coordination. Together, 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\u2019s rigorous regulatory standards.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Clear Ties to Trump<\/p>\n Looking through the company\u2019s statements, Greenland Energy has some ties to Trump and, perhaps, the various imperialistic goals that have fueled some of the most outrageous decisions of his second term. In a statement<\/a> announcing the Jameson Land project back in April, Greenland Energy cited \u201cdisruptions to key shipping corridors, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz\u201d when explaining its goals for the project:<\/p>\n Escalating geopolitical tensions and renewed disruptions to key shipping corridors, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz, are once again highlighting a persistent vulnerability: global energy security remains fragile. Despite years of diversification efforts, both the United States and Europe continue to face exposure to supply disruptions capable of cascading through economies, industries and households.<\/p>\n Personnel is another consideration. Greenland Energy announced in June<\/a> that it had added Carol Craig to the company\u2019s board of directors. Craig runs a space exploration and defense company that is heavily involved in Trump\u2019s \u201cGolden Dome\u201d project, the missile defense plan that Trump has used as a basis for his ongoing argument that the \u201cownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity\u201d for the U.S. (It\u2019s worth noting that the chair of Greenland Energy\u2019s board, Larry Swets, is reportedly known to have the president\u2019s ear and has said publicly that the drilling project is \u201cnot related to American annexation,\u201d per The Guardian.)<\/p>\n Add to the tangled web the fact that Greenland Energy and Envoy Media Company \u2014 which is owned by Phil McGraw, the right-wing Trump ally and TV doctor known as Dr. Phil \u2014 announced in June they\u2019d developed a new partnership to create an \u201coriginal\u00a0docuseries\u201d about the oil-drilling project, \u201chosted by Dr. Phil and spotlighting\u00a0Greenland Energy Company\u2019s\u00a0Arctic exploration.\u201d Here\u2019s more from Dr. Phil\u2019s announcement<\/a>:<\/p>\n The docuseries will chronicle Greenland Energy\u2019s historic Jameson Land Basin project and its planned 2026 campaign in East Greenland, the country\u2019s first modern onshore oil exploration. The Arctic adventure series will capture the mission of these modern-day wildcatters, as well as the people and character of the country of Greenland itself. The extensive and complex production will deploy top-flight filming techniques to overcome the region\u2019s extreme and isolated conditions. The series is designed to inform, educate, while wildly entertaining audiences via this modern-day treasure hunt \u2014 its massive scope, technological innovation, life-changing social dynamics, and implications for energy security.<\/p>\n While the government of Greenland announced in its \u201cwarning\u201d in July that the company did not have the necessary permissions secured for the project, it\u2019s unclear how its partnership with 80 Miles factors in to those concerns. In the letter to shareholders on Thursday, Greenland Energy appeared to at least acknowledge the fact that it doesn\u2019t have the necessary permissions to begin the project. <\/p>\n \u201cLarge-scale Arctic exploration campaigns require months of preparation before the first drill bit turns,\u201d they wrote.<\/a> \u201cWaiting until permits are issued before initiating logistical preparations would unnecessarily delay operations and risk losing valuable time within Greenland\u2019s limited operating season.\u201d <\/p>\n While it issued a warning, the government of Greenland might also be weighing how Trump could react should the project not receive the necessarily approvals, according to The Guardian: <\/p>\n As a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, decisions about Greenland\u2019s natural resources rest with its local elected leaders, who now face a delicate decision. They could grant permission for oil drilling, even though the planned wells appear to fall within a conservation area protected by the Ramsar convention on wetlands. Or they could refuse and, some worry, give Trump a pretext to advance his imperialist agenda.<\/p>\n Since the beginning of his second term, Trump has been threatening to take over Greenland, claiming that the U.S. has a right to seize the semi-autonomous territory from Denmark, supposedly due to American efforts to defend the territory during World War II. He has claimed that the U.S. taking over Greenland is \u201cvital\u201d for national security reasons and his Golden Dome project, which he believes will help the U.S. fend off attacks from adversaries like Russia and China.<\/p>\n It\u2019s one of several hegemonic Trump II fever dreams that the President continues to elevate every few months \u2014 often in increasingly cryptic and ominous ways, like this AI generated Truth Social post<\/a> from May.<\/p>\n More to Read From TPM Today<\/p>\n Khaya Himmelman has a look at what is expected to transpire in tomorrow\u2019s Republican primaries for the gubernatorial race in Wisconsin. Hint \u2014 the guy expected to secure the nomination is a major election denier: Trump-Backed Election Denier Expected to Secure GOP Nomination for Wisconsin Governor<\/a><\/p>\n While Democrats found a way to pressure a candidate with credible allegations against them in time to not entirely ruin the party\u2019s chances in a key race for the Senate (outcome, obviously, TBD), Republicans have taken a very different approach with Rep. Max Miller (R-OH). John Light explores this a bit more here: Max Miller Has Chosen to Brazen It Out, Setting Up Experiment for GOP<\/a><\/p>\n David Kurtz reports exclusively on \u201canother especially Kafkaesque example of the worst of the Trump mass deportation operation combined with \u2014 and this is critical \u2014 the administration\u2019s lawless behavior in federal courts.\u201d More in today\u2019s Morning Memo: First at TPM: Judge Orders Immigrant Released After Surreal Journey Through Trump\u2019s Gulag Archipelago<\/a><\/p>\n Yesterday\u2019s Top Story<\/p>\n How Cleta Mitchell Continues to Make Herself Relevant in the Election-Meddling Universe<\/a><\/p>\n What I\u2019m Reading<\/p>\n Trump signs order calling for spacing out childhood vaccines, against medical groups\u2019 guidance<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-10-at-3.09.20-PM.png\" "\\"\\"")
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