Trump says ‘massive’ oil and gas drilling is about to begin in Greenland

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President Donald Trump claimed early Wednesday that “massive oil, gas and mineral exploitation is getting ready to begin” in Greenland, without providing further detail about the operation.

“There are experts that are saying that the amount of easily available oil is far greater than that of almost any land, anywhere in the world,” he wrote on Truth Social just after midnight.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has repeatedly threatened to take control of Greenland, an autonomous part of Denmark, or to access its natural resources – including its vast and untapped minerals, angering close European and NATO partners.

Researchers have previously suggested it would be extremely difficult and expensive to extract Greenland’s minerals because many of the island’s deposits are located in remote areas above the Arctic Circle, where there is a mile-thick polar ice sheet. Approximately 80% of the island is covered in ice.

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Last month the US, Denmark, and Greenland reached an agreement intended to help resolve tensions following Trump’s threats to annex the strategically located island.

The agreement, which Trump claimed at the time gave the US “permanent control” over Greenland’s security, begins with an acknowledgment of Denmark’s sovereignty and Greenlanders’ right to self-determination.

The agreement, which makes small changes to a 1951 treaty that gives the US permission to station troops in Greenland as part of NATO’s defense, makes no explicit mention of oil or gas, but acknowledges “minerals cooperation” and “cooperation on economic development and business promotion,” with no further specifics, according a text of the agreement published on the White House’s website.

It also paves the way for additional US bases, and an assurance of US military access if Greenland becomes independent from Denmark.

In his post on Wednesday, Trump said, “Any future attack on the United States will have to come across Greenland, where our Defense will routinely knock down drones, missiles, or any other form of weapon not yet even conceived.”

CNN has reached out to the White House, to the Danish Prime Minister’s Office, and to Greenland’s government and Mineral Resources Authority for comment.

Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

周三早些时候，唐纳德·特朗普总统声称，格陵兰岛“即将开始大规模的石油、天然气和矿产开采”，但没有提供有关该行动的更多细节。

“有专家表示，地球上易于开采的石油储量远远超过世界上几乎任何其他地区的石油储量，”他在午夜刚过不久在 Truth Social 上写道。

自重返白宫以来，特朗普多次威胁要控制丹麦的自治领土格陵兰岛，或获取其自然资源，包括其储量丰富且尚未开发的矿产资源，这激怒了亲密的欧洲和北约伙伴。

研究人员此前曾指出，开采格陵兰岛的矿产资源将极其困难且成本高昂，因为该岛的许多矿藏位于北极圈以北的偏远地区，那里覆盖着厚达一英里的极地冰盖。该岛约80%的面积被冰雪覆盖。

Jonathan Nackstrand/法新社/盖蒂图片社/档案照片

上个月，美国、丹麦和格陵兰达成了一项协议，旨在帮助缓解特朗普威胁吞并这个具有战略意义的岛屿后引发的紧张局势。

特朗普当时声称，该协议赋予美国对格陵兰岛安全的“永久控制权”，协议首先承认丹麦的主权和格陵兰岛人民的自决权。

根据白宫网站上公布的协议文本，该协议对 1951 年的一项条约做了一些小的修改，该条约允许美国在格陵兰岛驻军，作为北约防御的一部分。协议没有明确提及石油或天然气，但承认了“矿产合作”和“经济发展和商业促进方面的合作”，但没有进一步的具体细节。

这也为美国增设军事基地铺平了道路，并确保如果格陵兰岛脱离丹麦独立，美国军队仍能进入该岛。

特朗普周三在社交媒体上发帖称：“任何未来对美国的攻击都必须经过格陵兰岛，在那里，我们的国防力量将例行击落无人机、导弹或任何其他尚未被构想出来的武器。”

CNN已联系白宫、丹麦首相办公室、格陵兰政府和矿产资源管理局征求意见。