President Donald Trump is still pushing for greater U.S. control over Greenland, and now a Texas oil company with ties to his orbit is facing scrutiny for moving ahead with a major project in the territory before key approvals are in place.
Greenland Energy Company, a Texas corporation founded late last year, said plans are advancing for an ambitious hunt for crude beneath a remote stretch of East Greenland.
The company has connections to Trump associates. Phil McGraw, widely known as Dr. Phil and a Trump appointee and supporter, was hired by Greenland Energy to produce a documentary series about the project. Carol Craig-whose space and defense company is involved in Trump’s Golden Dome missile-defense system-also sits on Greenland Energy’s board.
Company executives have estimated that as much as $1 trillion worth of crude could lie beneath the Jameson Land region, according to The Guardian. But there’s a hitch: Greenland has not yet granted the approvals needed for drilling. That apparently hasn’t stopped preparations for a proposed exploration well.
Greenland Energy Company did not immediately respond to Chron’s request for comment.
Aeriel view over Kong Christian IX Land, East-Greenland, Greenland. The region includes Jameson Land, where Texas-based Greenland Energy Company is funding preparations for a proposed oil exploration project. (Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty)
Greenland issues a ‘strong warning’
Preparations for the Greenland hunt are moving forward even as key regulatory approvals remain outstanding.
“Large-scale Arctic exploration campaigns require months of preparation before the first drill bit turns,” the company wrote in a news release Thursday. “Waiting until permits are issued before initiating logistical preparations would unnecessarily delay operations and risk losing valuable time within Greenland’s limited operating season.”
Greenland Energy is partnered with British company 80 Mile, whose subsidiary White Flame Energy holds the exploration licenses in Greenland. The Texas company is funding the drilling program and can earn up to a 70 percent stake in the project.
The project has drawn scrutiny from authorities in Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark. On July 30, Greenland’s Department of Business and Mineral Resources said White Flame had moved equipment intended for the project to Nerlerit Inaat without the required approval.
The government said the license holder “did not have the necessary approvals” before the operation began and said it would issue a “strong warning” that “all future logistical matters must be advised and approved by the mineral resources authority-before they are carried out,” according to the translated news release.
A transport company told Danish investigative outlet Danwatch it was hired by Greenland Energy to ship an excavator and at least 15 containers for the company’s oil exploration project in Jameson Land.
Greenlandic officials allowed the equipment to remain but said it could not be moved further until the necessary approvals were in place.
Greenland Energy scales back drilling plans
The companies have scaled back their immediate drilling plans.
Greenland Energy said its 2026-27 winter campaign would focus on one exploration well instead of the two initially planned.
“This decision was not driven by funding constraints,” the company wrote in the Thursday news release. “Rather, it reflects a shared commitment to executing the first well with the highest standards of operational excellence, environmental stewardship, and safety.”
A second well is expected after the results of the first are analyzed. Greenland Energy has acknowledged that additional regulatory approvals are still needed before drilling can begin.
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This article originally published at What do a Texas oil company, Dr. Phil, and Greenland have in common?.