Greenland contradicts Trump’s claim that ‘massive’ oil and gas drilling is about to begin there

Greenland contradicts Trump’s claim that ‘massive’ oil and gas drilling is about to begin there

Greenland’s government pushed back against President Donald Trump’s claim on Wednesday that “massive oil, gas and mineral exploration is getting ready to begin” in the Arctic territory.

While Greenland’s deputy mining minister Jørgen Hammeken-Holm acknowledged that “there are activities by US companies,” he told CNN that “we are very far away from ‘massive’ exploration.”

“There are many smaller explorations underway but these could take years to become operational,” he added, echoing researchers who have pointed out the difficulties and enormous expense involved in extracting resources from Greenland.

The Foreign Ministry of Denmark, of which Greenland is an autonomous part, said that if the US wants to explore Greenland’s resources, it would have to do so within the Arctic Island’s legislation. Denmark also said the US-Denmark-Greenland agreement signed last month did not change this.

“The agreement does not grant investors from the US any preferential treatment compared with investors from other NATO countries, EU countries and NATO partners when it comes to access to natural resources in Greenland,” it added.

Many of the island’s deposits are located in remote areas above the Arctic Circle, where there is a mile-thick polar ice sheet and little infrastructure. Approximately 80% of the island is covered in ice.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has repeatedly threatened to take control of Greenland and its natural resources, angering European and NATO partners.