{"id":157165,"date":"2026-09-01T16:30:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T16:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/157165\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T16:30:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T16:30:13","slug":"greenland-delays-u-s-companys-plans-to-drill-for-oil-in-jameson-land-basin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/157165\/","title":{"rendered":"Greenland delays U.S. company\u2019s plans to drill for oil in Jameson Land Basin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

The landscape of Jameson Land Basin in eastern Greenland, where U.S-based Greenland Energy’s plans to drill exploration wells have been delayed.HO\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

A drilling rig was being retooled in Alberta. Trucks and cranes were set to ship from Denmark. More equipment was due from Houston.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And a Quebec shipping firm was preparing to receive cargoes from those far flung locales at a port west of Montreal, load them Tetris-style onto vessels and sail this fall to Greenland\u2019s rugged and inhospitable east coast. All this, in preparation for what would be the first oil wells to be drilled in the barren tundra of Jameson Land Basin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But then, in mid-August, authorities in the mostly autonomous Danish territory said they needed more time to review Greenland Energy Co.\u2019s GLND-Q<\/a> plans to tap what it believes could be an oil bonanza.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Canadian driller, shipper enlisted to help tap Greenland oil<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe literally shut everything down in its tracks,\u201d Robert Price, Greenland Energy\u2019s chief executive, said in a recent interview. Equipment has been put into storage and plans set aside for \u201ca good year\u201d until November or December of 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just take a deep breath and you just move forward,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to be in Greenland for a long time. We\u2019re there for the long term. It\u2019s a delay, but it\u2019s not an insurmountable delay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also on-hold is a six-part documentary series chronicling the Greenland exploration program hosted by Phil McGraw, better known as the TV personality Dr. Phil, and produced by McGraw\u2019s firm Envoy Media Co.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The area Greenland Energy aims to explore is covered by pre-existing licences held by its joint-venture partner, U.K.-based 80 Mile PLC\u00a0BLLYF<\/a>.<\/p>\n

80 Mile obtained the licences long before the Greenland government banned new oil and gas exploration in 2021. Those permits \u2013 two granted in 2015 and one in 2018 \u2013 are still valid, Greenland\u2019s Ministry of Trade and Natural Resources says in an online information page.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA revocation of the existing permits would require special steps and can be considered expropriation,\u201d it said. The permits are valid until the end of 2028, and could be extended.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Getting the go-ahead to actually get to work has been another matter. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had what we thought were assurances to get the permits to drill the wells before the end of this year and as it turned out, the government said that they wanted more time to review it,\u201d Price said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Initially, the regulator asked Greenland Energy to drill one exploratory well instead of two, and the company agreed, Price said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Greenland government said in an Aug. 12 news release that government and company officials met in July and that the firm presented plans to begin exploration this winter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe department expressed concern at the meeting about the very tight schedule and reviewed the regulatory process that must be completed before drilling activities can be approved,\u201d it said. Among other things, social sustainability and environmental impact assessments must be completed, as well as public consultations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a process,\u201d Price said. \u201cWe\u2019re drilling the Arctic Circle, and we expect delays in the Arctic Circle.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Other than storage and maintenance costs, Greenland Energy isn\u2019t taking much of a financial hit from the delay, he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This summer, Greenland Energy and its partner ran afoul of local authorities when equipment was transported to near the planned drilling site from elsewhere on the island without the approval of the mineral resources ministry. The government decided it would not be \u201cproportional\u201d to order the drilling bed be moved back to its previous location, but instead issued \u201ca strong warning\u201d that the company must inform the government of any logistical matters in the future. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Price said the company obtained a permit last year to land the equipment, but it had expired. It believed moving the equipment to its airport in Jameson Land would be allowed, but the mineral resources regulator disagreed such a carve-out existed. Price said \u201cwe apologized\u201d and \u201cour equipment there right now is lawfully stored there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Two Canadian companies enlisted in the effort \u2013 Calgary-based Stampede Drilling SDI-X<\/a> and Desgagn\u00e9s, which specializes in shipping in harsh environments \u2013 have sought to make clear that they had nothing to do with that issue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Stampede Drilling said a rig that\u2019s being upgraded for \u201cpotential deployment\u201d to Greenland remains in Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cStampede further confirms that it will not be landing a drilling rig in Greenland unless Greenland Energy\u2019s drilling program receives all required regulatory consents and approvals of Greenlandic authorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Desgagn\u00e9s said none of its vessels have unloaded cargo in Greenland, nor have they been scheduled to travel there.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDesgagn\u00e9s conducts its operations in strict compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and requirements in Canada and internationally,\u201d it said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe management, authorization, and implementation of the project fall exclusively under the jurisdiction of the competent Greenlandic authorities, whose decisions will be respected by Desgagn\u00e9s.\u201d<\/p>\n

The drilling plans were coming together at the same time U.S. President Donald Trump set his sights on Greenland for U.S. annexation. The government on the island, whose population of about 56,000 is mostly Inuit, has fiercely rejected such an idea. Price has said he does not believe a U.S. takeover of Greenland is on the table, and that his company is committed to respecting Greenland\u2019s independence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Oil drilling may be on pause in Greenland, but Price said he\u2019s still busy with work elsewhere in the territory. Another company he runs, USFM Corp., has been involved in a nickel exploration project on the west side of the island. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: The landscape of Jameson Land Basin in eastern Greenland, where U.S-based Greenland Energy’s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":157166,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5],"tags":[2592,2582,2593,2574,2572,2594,227,2571,2587,2588,2584,2573,2570,1414,440,2072,2586,2580,2605,2575,2576,1585,57,2583,2501,2578,2595,436,2600,2601,2603,2598,2602,2596,2599,2577,2590,2591,1158,2589,2597,2581,239,1413,2585,2579,1161,2604],"class_list":["post-157165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-greenland","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-greenland","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157165"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157165\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/157166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}