Greenland oil drilling plans in the eastern part of the country have triggered a formal warning from the Greenlandic authorities after equipment connected to a proposed exploration project was moved without the required prior approval. The Department of Business and Mineral Resources (Departementet for Erhverv og Råstoffer) said the licence holder, White Flame Energy, had transferred camp equipment to Nerlerit Inaat airport while applications connected to future activities in Nunap Qeqqa, or Jameson Land, remain under review.
According to a statement published by Greenland’s government, the equipment had been stored in Tasiilaq after being transported there from northwestern Greenland in September 2025. It was subsequently moved to Nerlerit Inaat, also known as Constable Point, as preparations continued for possible oil exploration in Jameson Land.
The authorities stressed that the move did not amount to the start of drilling operations. However, White Flame Energy did not have the necessary approval from the mineral resources authority before carrying out the logistical operation.
Greenland oil drilling project receives a formal warning
The department said an earlier authorisation allowing equipment to be landed in Jameson Land had expired and had not yet been renewed. The application is still being processed.
White Flame Energy told the authorities that it had reached an agreement with Greenland Airports to store the material at Nerlerit Inaat and that it would not be moved further until the necessary approvals had been obtained.
The government decided that ordering the equipment back to Tasiilaq would be disproportionate because it was being stored under appropriate conditions. Instead, the licence holder will receive what the department described as a strong warning, with instructions that all future logistical operations must be notified to and approved by the mineral resources authority before they take place.
The episode follows previous disagreements over what the companies involved in the project were authorised to do. In June, US-based Greenland Energy Company said it had permission to bring equipment ashore. Greenlandic authorities subsequently disputed that interpretation, saying permits for the planned exploration activities had not yet been granted, as reported by Yle.
An unusual surviving oil licence in Greenland
The proposed exploration concerns Nunap Qeqqa, or Jameson Land, a sparsely populated area in eastern Greenland close to Ittoqqortoormiit.
The project is led through White Flame Energy, a company controlled by British-listed 80 Mile, in cooperation with Texas-based Greenland Energy Company. Greenland Energy is financing the planned exploration programme in exchange for a substantial interest in the project.
The Jameson Land licences occupy an unusual position in Greenland’s energy policy. Greenland stopped issuing new licences for oil and gas exploration as part of its shift away from hydrocarbon development, but the rights covering Jameson Land predate that policy change and remain in force.
Sermitsiaaq reported in June that the companies had applied for permission to carry out stratigraphic studies and drill two geological wells to depths of around 3.5 kilometres. These initial wells would be intended to assess the area’s geology rather than begin commercial oil production. Independent geologists quoted by the newspaper cautioned that favourable geological conditions do not establish that commercially recoverable quantities of oil are present.
The project has already caused tensions in eastern Greenland
Greenland Energy Company has promoted the potential of the basin aggressively, while local authorities and residents have questioned both the project’s environmental implications and the way it has been presented.
The controversy intensified following a public meeting in Ittoqqortoormiit in June. Local representatives subsequently called for Greenland’s government (Naalakkersuisut) to take a stronger role in communication with the companies.
Greenland Energy also announced plans for a television production involving US media personality Dr Phil McGraw, although his planned visit to Ittoqqortoormiit was later cancelled. The company’s executives and advisers include figures with links to conservative political and business circles in the USA, contributing to broader attention around the project at a time when Greenland’s resources and strategic position have become increasingly prominent in American political debate.
For Greenland, however, the immediate dispute is more straightforward. The authorities have not ordered the project to stop permanently, nor have they accused the companies of carrying out unauthorised oil drilling. They have made clear that preparatory logistics cannot move ahead of the permitting process.
Whether exploration eventually begins will therefore depend on the outstanding Greenlandic approvals, including those required before equipment can be moved onward from Nerlerit Inaat to Jameson Land.
