President Donald Trump said Wednesday that “massive” oil, gas and mineral exploration is getting ready to begin in Greenland, the huge Arctic island he has long said should come under American control. Trump announced it after a campaign stop in Wasilla, Alaska, writing that experts say the amount of easily available oil in Greenland is “far greater than that of almost any land, anywhere in the world.”
“Massive Oil, Gas, and Mineral Exploration is getting ready to begin in our new and beautiful Greenland!”
The announcement comes one month after the United States signed a security agreement with Denmark and Greenland that expands the American military role on the island, paves the way for two new U.S. bases and President Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense, and limits investment by non-NATO countries in strategic sectors — while reaffirming Danish sovereignty and Greenlanders’ right to self-determination. Trump paired the exploration news with the security case: any future attack on the United States, he wrote, will have to come across Greenland, where American defenses will knock down drones, missiles, “or any other form of weapon not yet even conceived.” The agreement would still apply even if Greenland eventually chooses independence from Denmark.
Greenland holds large deposits of the rare earth minerals needed for everything from smartphones to batteries — a supply chain China dominates today — and the U.S. Geological Survey has identified major potential offshore oil and gas deposits. But the island’s own lawmakers voted in 2021 to stop issuing new oil and gas permits, no project there has ever moved past the exploratory stage, and Greenlandic lawmaker Naaja H. Nathanielsen cautioned Wednesday that “there’s no Greenlandic barrels of oil on ground in any near future.” The direction, though, is now set: Greenland’s resources, and its position at the top of the world, sit at the center of America’s Arctic strategy.
Never miss a story.Join our Telegram channel and get every article link the second it’s published.
Join Telegram Channel