Trump Prepares for Massive Gas and Oil Drilling Operations in Greenland
The US President announces preparations for oil and gas drilling in Greenland as part of a new security agreement.
Translated by Qiyas from الجريدة — Original source
US President Donald Trump announced preparations for “massive” oil, gas, and mineral exploration operations in Greenland, three weeks after signing a security agreement that anchored the Danish autonomous territory within the US sphere of influence.
Trump affirmed, in a post on his Truth Social platform yesterday evening, that Greenland would play an “unmatched” role in the security of Europe and the United States under the agreement, which ended months of tensions related to his ambitions to annex the territory to the US. He added that preparations were underway to begin large-scale exploration operations “in our new and wonderful region, Greenland.”
Citing experts, Trump noted that the “amount of oil readily available there is much greater than in almost anywhere else in the world,” emphasizing that Greenland holds “unmatched” importance for the security imperatives of the United States and Europe in terms of defense and offense. He stated that “any future attacks on the United States would have to pass through Greenland, where our defenses would systematically shoot down drones, missiles, and any other form of weapons yet to be invented.”
He clarified that the territory enjoys a triple advantage “in terms of time, location, and line of sight, which is unmatched anywhere else in the world” for launching an attack or responding to an enemy assault.
Under Article 4 of the agreement signed between the United States, Denmark, and Greenland, Washington intends to establish two military bases in southern and eastern Greenland, thereby cementing US influence in the territory.
The United States has been bound by a defensive agreement with Greenland since 1951, with the Thule Air Base in the north playing a key role in the US missile defense system.
The signing of the trilateral agreement between Washington, Copenhagen, and Nuuk on September 22 at the United Nations headquarters in New York helped put an end to months of transatlantic tensions.
Trump had previously sparked a major crisis with Europeans by threatening to annex the autonomous territory of Greenland to the United States, particularly given its strategic location and valuable resources. The territory holds a strategic position at a short distance between the United States and Russia.
It also contains untapped deposits of rare earth elements and could play a vital role amid Arctic ice melt and the emergence of new sea routes.
Trump’s post on Truth Social provided no concrete details regarding the projects under development for mineral and oil exploration in the territory.
However, new concerns were raised in the island in August, following media coverage of preparations made by an American oil company in a remote area of eastern Greenland.
The project, operated by a Texas-based company under licenses issued before the halt of fossil fuel exploration and extraction in 2021, sparked concern among Greenlanders and authorities, who had not given the green light for preliminary exploratory drilling, citing procedural reasons. Today, more than sixty companies hold approximately 135 mining licenses, but only two mines are operating on the island.
