An American oil company managed by figures close to U.S. President Donald Trump has brought oil exploration and drilling equipment into Greenland without approval from local authorities, prompting a warning from the Greenlandic government.

According to the UK's Guardian on August 8 (local time), Greenland Energy, a company established in Texas, recently unloaded about 12 containers of drilling equipment in Jameson Land, eastern Greenland.

In response, the Greenlandic government issued a statement saying that the equipment was brought in without prior approval, issuing a "severe warning" and stating that all future logistics operations must be notified in advance to mineral resource authorities and conducted only after receiving approval.

Greenland Energy claims that up to 1 trillion dollars worth of crude oil could be buried underground in Jameson Land, and is pushing to pursue oil exploration and drilling at a cost of 60 million dollars.

Greenland suspended the issuance of new oil exploration licenses in 2021 citing environmental concerns.

However, the British company 80 Mile had previously secured exploration rights for Jameson Land, and Greenland Energy reportedly plans to secure a majority stake in the project in exchange for funding the exploration costs.

Greenland Energy has also drawn attention for its personal connections to President Trump.

The company recruited Phil McGraw, a right-wing broadcaster who served on President Trump's Religious Liberty Commission, to produce a documentary series intended to "capture the mission of modern oil drillers."

It also appointed a former U.S. Navy official involved in the "Golden Dome" missile defense initiative of the Trump administration as a member of its board of directors.

President Trump has argued that securing U.S. control over Greenland is essential for building the Golden Dome.

As President Trump has repeatedly claimed that the U.S. must secure dominance over Greenland, interpretations have emerged that this delivery of drilling equipment may not be unrelated to his vision of annexing Greenland.

President Trump has claimed that Greenland is essential to U.S. national security and that the U.S. must acquire it, raising international concerns by refusing to rule out the possibility of using military force.

However, Larry Swets, the chairman of Greenland Energy, claimed that this oil exploration project is unrelated to the U.S. push to secure dominance over Greenland.

Greenland Energy reportedly plans to dispatch a ship loaded with a large amount of drilling equipment from Canada on September 12 next month, and to begin drilling in October.

While pointing out that bringing in the equipment without prior approval is a problem, the Greenlandic government reportedly judged that demanding the removal of equipment already brought in would be excessive.

The application for a drilling permit is currently under review.

Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark, but decision-making power over natural resource development rests with the Greenlandic government.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)