A company linked to U.S. President Donald Trump began setting up an oil drilling operation in Greenland without the government’s permission.
In August 2026, equipment for the Jameson Land oil project was moved without the necessary government approval, which led Greenlandic authorities to issue a warning.
As of August 2026, Greenland Energy had not begun drilling, and there was no evidence that Trump owned or controlled the company.
It remains unclear whether or to what extent Trump or members of his administration had any direct contact with the company about its activities in Greenland.
In early August 2026, social media users circulated claims that a company connected to U.S. President Donald Trump had moved into Greenland and started setting up an oil drilling operation without permission.
For instance, one Facebook post (archived) began:
🚨 TRUMP-LINKED OIL COMPANY LANDS DRILLING EQUIPMENT IN GREENLAND WITHOUT PERMISSION AS TRUMP THREATENS TAKEOVER 🚨
[…]
A Texas oil company with ties to Donald Trump just landed a dozen shipping containers of drilling equipment on Greenland’s remote eastern coast. They never got permission.
Greenland’s government issued a “strong warning” that no approval had been granted. But Greenland Energy, a company set up last year with chairman Larry Swets enjoying access to Trump’s inner circle, pushed forward anyway.
A company representative named Robert Price told residents at a community meeting in June that they had permission to bring equipment ashore. That was false. Greenland’s resources ministry confirmed there are “no actually active permissions for any exploration activity.” When caught, the company blamed “enthusiasm” for the confusion. Then the next month, locals watched a tug pull a barge to shore and unload containers.
(Facebook user Jim Heath)
“An American company lands equipment on foreign soil without permission, lies about having approval, and the sitting president posts memes threatening to take the whole island. Trump is making the USA a villain in real time,” the post ended.
Similar versions of the claim spread elsewhere. One Instagram video alleged Trump was “having an oil company that he is linked to go and start drilling in Greenland” and that “experts are saying across the Internet that this is what looks to be essentially an invasion without an invasion.” One article’s headline went further, claiming that “Trump’s oil company begins drilling in Greenland without consulting authorities.” Snopes readers also contacted us about the story and searched our website for information about it.
In short, there was some truth to the claims. However, they often made both the company’s actions and its ties to Trump sound stronger than the evidence showed. It was true that in late July 2026, the equipment connected to the planned oil project was moved without the required authorization, which led Greenland’s government to issue a warning. But, as of this writing, the drilling had not started and the exploration licenses were still valid. Also, we found no evidence that Trump owned or controlled Greenland Energy.
For those reasons, we rated this claim a mixture of true, false and undetermined information.
Snopes reached out to Greenland Energy, Greenlandic authorities and the White House for comment and will update this story if we receive responses.
Origin of the rumor and what actually happened
Social media claims stemmed from genuine reporting about a planned oil exploration project in Jameson Land in eastern Greenland. Questions about the project already surfaced in July 2026, when The Guardian reported that Greenland Energy representative Robert Price told residents the company had permission to bring equipment ashore, while Greenland’s resources ministry said there were no active permissions for exploration activities or preparations.
At the end of July, Danish news outlet Danwatch reported that equipment linked to the project was moved to Nerlerit Inaat without the required authorization. Greenland’s government confirmed the move and issued a “strong warning,” saying future logistical activities had to be approved in advance.
Later, The Guardian reported on Aug. 8 that a “Trump-linked” oil firm was preparing to drill. Importantly, the article said the company was preparing for drilling, and not that drilling had already started.
Did the company start drilling without permission?
The incident that prompted Greenland’s warning was not unauthorized drilling, but the movement of equipment connected to the project without the necessary approval. Greenland’s Ministry of Trade and Mineral Resources said the license holder “did not have the necessary approvals from the mineral resources authority in place before initiating this operation,” according to a Google translation of its statement.
The project’s actual drilling rig did not arrive in Greenland. Stampede Drilling, the Canadian contractor hired for the project, said it would not take the rig ashore unless all required regulatory approvals were in place.
But that does not mean the entire project lacks a legal basis. Greenland stopped issuing new oil and gas licenses in 2021, but the three licenses covering the Jameson Land project were issued in 2015 and 2018 and remain valid through the end of 2028. Those licenses do not automatically authorize drilling, which still requires separate approvals from the authorities.
Moreover, Greenland Energy does not itself currently hold those licenses. Greenland’s government said the company “incorrectly informed the public” that it was the license holder. The licenses are in fact held by White Flame Energy A/S, while Greenland Energy is involved as an investor and operator of the project.
As of August 2026, drilling had not started. On Aug. 12, Greenlandic authorities said the required regulatory process could not be completed in time for the planned drilling campaign, including the assessment of its environmental and social impact. The government and company said drilling could now begin no earlier than winter 2027.
How is the company connected to Trump?
We found no evidence that Trump owns, controls or has directly invested in the company. Therefore, calling Greenland Energy “Trump’s oil company” is unsupported. The “Trump-linked” description appears to come mainly from connections between people involved with the company and Trump or his administration.
For instance, as The Guardian reported, Greenland Energy hired Envoy Media — a company founded by television personality Phil McGraw. McGraw supported Trump during the 2024 election and Trump later appointed him to his Religious Liberty Commission. The company also appointed Carol Craig to its board. Craig leads Sidus Space, which has received work connected to the Trump administration’s Golden Dome missile defense initiative.
The Guardian pointed to investor Kenneth Griffin, a major Republican donor who voted for Trump in 2024 and contributed to his inauguration. The outlet also reported that some Greenland Energy shareholders discussed hoping for a public endorsement from Trump that could boost the company’s stock price. Snopes was unable to independently verify the posts from the shareholder Telegram group cited by the newspaper.
There was also some direct contact with the Trump administration. Greenland Energy CEO Robert Price told Greenlandic broadcaster KNR that he and company chairman Larry Swets met Trump’s special envoy to Greenland, Jeff Landry, at a conference in Nuuk in May and discussed the project. However, Price said the company did not receive any promises of political support from the administration and denied having any broader relationship with Landry or Trump’s circle.
Still, none of those connections showed that Trump was behind the project. The Guardian reported Greenland Energy representative Robert Price, when asked whether Swets had close relations with Trump, replied, “Not that I know of.” Swets also said the oil project was not connected to the prospect of U.S. annexation of Greenland.
Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark and is strategically important because of its Arctic location and natural resources. Trump has repeatedly said he wants the United States to acquire Greenland and has at times floated the possibility of using military force.
Bottom line
All in all, it was true that in late July 2026, equipment connected to the Jameson Land oil project was moved without the required authorization, and Greenland’s government issued a warning over it. The company also had some indirect connections to Trump and his administration. However, as of this writing, it had not yet started drilling. Also, Trump does not own the company, and we found no evidence that he directly instructed it to carry out its activities in Greenland. The project itself is based on legally valid exploration licenses, although separate activities still need approval.
For further reading, Snopes has previously investigated numerous rumors surrounding Trump’s interest in Greenland.
