A Canadian drilling firm says it received US$4 million from an American oil company to prepare a rig for drilling in Arctic conditions, but the rig is still in Canada and will not be moved until the U.S. company gets permission to drill from the Greenland government.
Alberta-based Stampede Drilling shared the information following a dispute between a U.S. oil company and the government of Greenland after the American firm Greenland Energy Company moved oil drilling equipment to the self-governing Danish territory without permission.
In a statement issued on Aug. 11, Stampede Drilling had said that its work with Greenland Energy “has focused on preparing and upgrading its drilling rig in Canada so that it would be capable of Arctic operations if the project receives the required approvals.”
“Greenland Energy Company has provided $4-million USD in upfront capital funding toward those upgrades,” Stampede Drilling CEO Lyle Whitmarsh told Global News in an emailed statement, adding, however, that its drilling rig “remains in Canada.”
“It has not been transported to, landed in or operated in Greenland, and Stampede Drilling Inc. has not conducted any drilling activity in Greenland,” he said.
Months after U.S. President Donald Trump escalated his threats to annex Greenland, the semi-autonomous Arctic island is pushing back against another threat — the setting up of drilling infrastructure by a U.S. oil company on its territory without permission.
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U.S.-based oil company Greenland Energy has been preparing to drill for oil in Greenland, having moved drilling equipment to the island’s east coast, triggering a warning from Greenland in late July and a decision on Aug. 11 by the company to delay drilling until “winter 2027.”
In May, Greenland Energy said it had signed an agreement with Alberta’s Stampede Drilling to provide a high-performance drilling rig for its operations in Greenland’s Jameson Land Basin.
The planned exploration project is on a peninsula in eastern Greenland called Jameson Land Basin. The basin is “one of the largest underexplored conventional hydrocarbon basins in the Western world,” Greenland Energy said in a statement.
On July 30, the Greenland government said it had “become aware” that a subsidiary of British firm 80 Mile PLC had moved drilling gear to Greenland’s east coast. The British company is an associate of U.S. firm Greenland Energy.
Greenland has said the plans to drill are unauthorized and that the U.S. company does not have the proper approvals and permits to conduct that work, and that the permit that had previously been granted to a British firm, which the U.S. firm planned to partner with, was no longer valid.
“A strong warning will be sent to the rights holder with a reprimand stating that all future logistical matters must be notified and approved by the Mineral Resources Authority — before they are carried out,” the ministry said.
Greenland Energy said in a statement on Aug. 11 that it will abide by all of Greenland’s regulations.
“Greenland Energy remains committed to advancing its oil exploration program responsibly and in accordance with Greenland’s regulatory process, and in full compliance with Greenlandic authorities,” said Robert Price, CEO of Greenland Energy Company.
The company is expecting the permit to be granted by the winter of 2027, the statement added.
However, the company had previously said it could not wait for the whole process to start logistical preparations.
“Waiting until permits are issued before initiating logistical preparations would unnecessarily delay operations and risk losing valuable time within Greenland’s limited operating season,” the company said.
Stampede Drilling said its approach “remains unchanged.”
The Calgary-based company “will not deploy its drilling rig or commence drilling in Greenland unless and until Greenland Energy Company’s program receives all required regulatory consents and approvals from Greenlandic authorities,” Whitmarsh said in his statement to Global News.
“Stampede Drilling has not supplied, shipped or transported any rig components, drilling equipment or other materials to Greenland and was not involved in transporting or landing the equipment and materials referenced in recent media coverage.”
British newspaper The Guardian reported the firm has several ties to officials within the Trump White House.
In January, Trump vowed to acquire Greenland, calling the semi-autonomous territory of Denmark “our territory” while addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“We need it for strategic national security and international security. This enormous unsecured island is actually part of North America on the northern frontier of the Western Hemisphere,” Trump said.
“That’s our territory.”
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