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An executive helping spearhead plans to drill for oil in the eastern part of Greenland believes its government should be thanking U.S. President Donald Trump for the wave of economic interest now being enjoyed by the Arctic territory.
In an interview with Newsweek, Roderick McIllree, executive director of 80 Mile and managing director at the Texas-based Greenland Energy, said that the number of public and private players now hoping to secure an economic foothold in Greenland “absolutely comes as a function” of the global focus brought to the island by Trump.
McIllree said much of the interest in Greenland’s mineral and oil wealth was pre-existing and likely to increase regardless—given it represents as much as one-quarter of the world’s remaining exploitable resources—but that when “the CEO of America Inc.” expresses an interest in acquiring something, “the investor community notices that and sees that and then they all pile in.”
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The two companies McIllree serves as an executive are currently involved in a joint venture to exploit the Jameson Land Basin—an untapped area in East Greenland covering roughly 2 million acres.
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Beyond this, he pointed to private-sector plans to develop Greenland’s critical mineral potential, a recently unveiled $200 million investment package from the European Union, and the proposal of his Greenland Energy colleague, Larry Swets, to raise between $100 million and $200 million by the end of 2027 to put toward data centers, tourism and other projects on the island.
Regarding the involvement of American firms and the U.S. government, McIllree said that Greenland “doesn’t want to replace on colonial ruler with another one,” but that the territory is keen to attract investments from the U.S., Europe and any other willing international partner.
“Greenland doesn’t care what color the money is,” he told Newsweek.
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Merger Pushes Forwards Plans for Greenland Oil
On Tuesday, Greenland Energy said it had agreed terms to acquire 80 Mile, which holds the drilling rights to the Jameson Land Basin. Greenland Energy executives believe $1 trillion worth of oil could be sitting beneath the plot, and 80 Mile told Newsweek previously that the project could “rewire global oil flows if successful.”
The pair said the merger, valuing 80 Mile at £61.5 million ($83.4 million), would consolidate ownership of the Jameson licenses and the company’s other Greenland projects and streamline their financing, development and monetization.
"By bringing these companies and assets together, we believe we can create a stronger platform capable of investing in Greenland, creating opportunities for Greenlanders and responsibly developing projects that can contribute to Greenland's long-term economic growth and greater economic self-determination,” said Swets, Greenland Energy’s executive chairman.
McIllree told Newsweek that he expects the process to be completed in three to four months, and for the merged entity to be dual listed on the Nasdaq and London Stock Exchange under a new name that “reflects the bigger and better situation.”
He noted, however, that the agreement remains subject to approval by Greenlandic regulators**.**
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What Is Greenland Energy?
The American company was formed last year and is committed to unlocking what it calls Greenland’s "vast hydrocarbon potential through innovative exploration." Its main focus remains the Jameson Land Basin, which it has described as "one of, if not the last, highly prospective, yet completely undrilled basins globally, but with a clear genetic link to the North Sea as well as a scale similar to many of the world’s major producing regions."
In 2021, Greenland’s government announced that it would stop issuing new oil and gas exploration licenses and effectively banned the practice over environmental concerns. However, 80 Mile acquired the license before this moratorium, and Greenland Energy has assumed a majority stake in the venture in exchange for funding and carrying out the exploratory drilling.
Greenland Energy has several links to the Trump administration. Carol Craig, who joined its board of directors in June, heads a defense tech firm currently working on the president’s "Golden Dome" missile defense system.
Hedge fund manager Kenneth Griffin, a former Trump critic who donated $1 million to his 2025 inaugural committee, acquired a 9.3 percent stake in the firm through his hedge fund Citadel earlier this year. And Phil McGraw—the TV personality and Trump ally better known as Dr. Phil—was hired to present a six-part documentary series chronicling Greenland Energy's "historic Jameson Land Basin project."
The two companies received a “strong warning” from Greenlandic authorities last month for transferring drilling equipment to the territory without the necessary authorization. The government subsequently said the project required a more comprehensive regulatory review before any drilling could commence, pushing the exploration timeline back to winter next year at the earliest.
Jørgen T. Hammeken-Holm, Greenland’s permanent secretary for Mineral Resources, later told Newsweek the winter 2027 timeline was "maybe" realistic, and said it was "hard to tell" when drilling could commence. However, he said Greenland Energy would not begin drilling until it had obtained full permission to do so.
Lewis Lawrence, a senior analyst at the global consultancy Wood Mackenzie, told The Telegraph that the delay was “a bit of a reality check for Greenland Energy…[who] maybe thought they could come in and just drill on their own timeline.”
But despite the government censuring the companies for their premature preparations, Lukas Wahden, an associate fellow with the Russia Program at George Washington University and an expert on Arctic security, told Newsweek in August that Greenland itself was “quite keen to exploit certain resources to stabilize their financial situation,” which he said could bolster its bid for full statehood from Denmark.
McIllree told Newsweek that while the merger will not expedite the Jameson project timeline, it “reduces the overall costs” and simplifies “the regulatory side of things” when dealing with the Greenlandic government.
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Trump’s Own Greenland Ambitions
President Trump has repeatedly argued that the U.S. should control Greenland, and that the territory is crucial for American national security.
This interest dates back to his first term, but proposals and threats to buy or annex Greenland have become a frequent feature since his return to the White House last year. Last March, Trump refused to rule out using military force to take over the island, and threatened U.S. allies with tariffs for refusing to support these ambitions.
The president backed away from this in January after reaching a “framework of a future deal” over the territory, and officials from Greenland and Denmark—who reject the possibility of U.S. ownership outright—have since been working toward a mutually beneficial arrangement that would address American questions over Arctic security as well as sovereignty.
Wahden told Newsweek last month that the Jameson drilling project and the involvement of private American stakeholders would not strengthen Trump’s case for annexation. However, he said the project could renew the aggressive posturing toward Greenland and “derail the stabilization process.”
“If his mood is swayed by this episode…then obviously in the long term that could mean a more aggressive American position,” he said.
Greenland Energy's latest announcement comes as countries beyond the U.S. step up their involvement in Greenland. This week, Greenland and the European Union released a statement outlining a desire to “enhance the close historical, political, economic and cultural ties between them.”
The EU also announced an investment of €200 million ($233 million) in Greenland over the next two years, which will go toward territory-wide improvements in housing, tourism and small business support.
“This will create new opportunities and a strong and engaged EU in both Greenland and the Arctic,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “Because Greenland is a strategic ally and a trusted friend.”
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Greenland Energy Branches Out
In addition to expediting the Jameson Basin project, Tuesday’s announcement states that the combined entity would incorporate “80 Mile's remaining portfolio with Greenland Energy's capital markets access and development capability, creating a diversified energy and critical minerals company.”
80 Mile’s Greenland portfolio also includes rights to a number of other areas spanning the territory, with work already underway on a copper, nickel and cobalt project in West Greenland, and an ilmenite mining project in northwestern Greenland.
In an interview with Bloomberg published this week, Greenland Energy’s executive chairman announced he would launch a new company to invest in infrastructure projects in Greenland. Swets said he hoped to raise between $100 million and $200 million by the end of 2027 to put toward aviation, data centers and tourism projects, a prospect he said was now possible thanks to the administration’s interest in the territory.
“It would have been much more difficult for me to raise the money,” Swets told the outlet, “if it wasn’t for Trump having made Americans aware of how geopolitically important it is to have a sovereign and protected Greenland.”
Contact Newsweek editor on this story: Daniel Orton, Edward Pearcey, Sam Wilson.
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