Greenland Rejects Trump's Claim of Massive Oil Exploration
Source: iStock.com/sefa ozel
US President Donald Trump says the US is ready to launch major exploration for oil, gas, and minerals in Greenland. However, Greenlandic authorities say this is far from the truth.
BACKGROUND
“Preparations are now underway for extensive exploration of oil, gas, and minerals in our new and beautiful Greenland!” Trump writes in a post on Truth Social.
He also writes that the quantity of easily accessible oil in Greenland exceeds that of almost any other country in the world.
It is unclear which studies Trump is referring to, but oil drilling in Greenland has attracted significant interest from American companies in recent years. March GL, a company with a stated goal of drilling for oil on the self-governing island, has claimed that the area could hold up to 13 billion barrels of recoverable oil, Finansavisen reported in January.
In the same post, Trump writes that Greenland is “unparalleled from a security standpoint, regarding both defense and offense for both the US and Europe.”
Small-Scale Surveys
According to CNN, Trump’s claim is somewhat exaggerated.
There are “activities by American companies” taking place in Greenland, but this is “very far from massive exploration” for oil, Jørgen Hammeken-Holm, a department head at Greenland’s Ministry of Business, Mineral Resources, Energy, Justice and Gender Equality, told CNN.
“Many small-scale surveys are underway, but it could take years before they become operational,” says Hammeken-Holm.
No ministers from the Danish or Greenlandic governments have yet commented on Trump’s post.
Security Agreement
Trump has repeatedly suggested that the US should acquire Greenland, citing national security as the reason. Last year, he appointed Jeff Landry as special envoy to Greenland, with the mission of making it part of the United States.
Landry has previously stated that Greenland could be pumping oil as early as next year.
In late September, the US, Greenland, and Denmark concluded a new security and defense agreement regarding Greenland following lengthy negotiations.
On Monday, the agreement underwent its first reading in Greenland’s parliament, Inatsisartut, where the governing parties hold a majority. The opposition party Naleraq, for its part, wants to put the agreement to a referendum.
Denmark has received broad support—including from Norway and NATO—affirming that Greenland belongs to the Kingdom and that the power lies with its inhabitants.
A US Veto over Greenland’s Subsoil
The US government can block investments by other countries in Greenland. This applies not only to China and Russia but also to nations like India, which have shown interest in Greenlandic mining. The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed this to Jyllands-Posten.
Trump is of course wrong to speak of massive oil, gas, and mineral activity in “our”—meaning America’s—Greenland.
The island is still not American.
Yet on control over raw materials alone, there is some truth to Trump’s talk of “ours.”
This is because the Greenland agreement gives the US unprecedented power to decide who, for instance, can operate mines or drill for oil in Greenland, according to a response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Jyllands-Posten.
The majority of the world’s nations can only invest in the raw materials there if the US government—currently led by Trump—gives the green light.
Sources:
- Aftenposten (in Norwegian)
- Jyllands-Posten (in Danish)