Trump announces oil and gas exploration in Greenland

United States (US) President Donald Trump said Wednesday that "large-scale exploration for oil, gas and minerals" is about to begin in Greenland — a controversial statement about a territory that has resisted his efforts to control it and banned new drilling for crude oil.

Trump described the Danish Arctic island, run by a semi-autonomous government, as "our new, beautiful Greenland." He released a message on social media praising what he called U.S. gains resulting from a security agreement signed in September.

Greenland's prime minister's office declined to comment on Trump's statement.

Denmark's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Greenland's Ministry of Mineral Resources did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Greenland is embroiled in a dispute with Trump, who has said since 2019 that the US should buy or take possession of the strategically located, mineral-rich island for security reasons. On several occasions he refused to rule out the use of force.

Along with Denmark, the US and Greenland reached an agreement last month to allow the United States to bolster its military presence on the island — a deal that appeared to have resolved the impasse.

The agreement did not grant any mining or drilling rights.

"Large-scale exploration for oil, gas and minerals is about to begin," Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.

"There are experts who claim that the amount of easily accessible oil is much greater than that of virtually any other territory, anywhere in the world," he added, without citing any specific agreement or concrete development project.

Greenland banned uranium mining on its territory, as well as all future oil exploration, in 2021.

The government said it is analyzing whether a Texas company, Greenland Energy, can use licenses that predate this ban.

The company reported, in August this year, that it had plans to drill for oil in 2027 in an unexplored basin on the east coast of Greenland, although it did not have its own license to do so. The previous owner, Arco, invested heavily in seismic work in the 1970s, but never drilled.

Danish independent security policy consultant Jacob Kaarsbo said Trump's comments could be seen as a sign that his desire to control Greenland remains unchanged.

"It is extremely dangerous to consider this agreement between the Trump administration and Denmark as something that has altered Trump's intentions," he declared.

The 10-page agreement between the US, Denmark and Greenland paved the way for two new military bases and Trump's "Golden Dome" missile defense system, while reaffirming Danish sovereignty and Greenlanders' right to self-determination.

"Any future attack on the United States will have to pass through Greenland, where our Defense will routinely shoot down drones, missiles or any other form of weapon not yet conceived," Trump said in a post today.

"This gives us timing, location and line of sight like nowhere else in the world!" he added.