Oil firm linked to Trump unloaded drilling gear in Greenland without permit

An American oil company tied to Donald Trump has unloaded drilling equipment on Greenland's eastern coast without the required permits, Greenlandic authorities said, prompting a formal reprimand.

The Government of Greenland said the shipment arrived last month and that the gear is linked to planned exploratory oil drilling in the area. In an official statement it warned regulators had found procedural gaps and would issue a strong warning to the company.

Permit problems and political overtones

"The Department of Industry and Minerals can determine that the license holder did not possess the necessary approvals," the Greenland statement said, according to officials. The equipment is intended for a major drilling project financed by a Texas-based company, Greenland Energy, founded last year and reported to have links to Donald Trump.

Greenland Energy has described itself as a majority partner in the project after financing exploration, but it has not yet obtained Greenlandic permission to begin drilling. Company representatives acknowledged that one of their staff mistakenly told local residents the unloading had been approved, while saying discussions with Greenland regulators are ongoing and they expect to secure the remaining permits.

The company’s president and a principal shareholder, Leri Svets, is reported to have personal ties to the president's inner circle; his wife earlier this year posted photographs from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. The presence of the equipment on the shore was noted a few days before Donald Trump again revived rhetoric about acquiring Greenland, posting an AI-generated image with the message "Hello, Greenland!"

Trump in January 2025 refused to rule out the use of force, saying the island was of strategic importance to the United States; he later softened the language but continued to describe Greenland as valuable for a proposed missile-defence network dubbed the "Golden Dome" of satellites, sensors and interceptors.

The episode has drawn broader attention because the company added military veteran Carol Craig to its board; she has been involved in the Golden Dome project. Television host Philip McGraw (Dr. Phil) was also hired for a documentary series on Arctic exploration tied to the venture. Greenland’s government stressed that any change in sovereignty would provoke a major crisis within NATO, since Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Photo: press material from the event