But the president was light on details, and some observers are taking a wait-and-see approach.
“Massive Oil, Gas, and Mineral Exploration is getting ready to begin in our new and beautiful Greenland!” Trump recently posted on Truth Social. He also talked about how the oil in Greenland, according to experts, is “far greater than that of almost any land” and is “second to none” from a security standpoint.
Casey Harper of The Washington Stand spoke on “Washington Watch” about the news. Despite the announcement, Harper said information was lacking regarding the exploration or a timeline. For now, it’s just a lot of big promises.
“We did hear from people inside Greenland that maybe the president overstated the extent of the exploration, at least in their opinion. I'm sure there'll be some back and forth on that,” Harper says.
Fox News also bemoaned the scant information but was told by a White House official how American leaders have recognized the strategic importance of Greenland for years, but only Trump has been able to convert that into a strategic victory.
Fox also said Greenland has not established a commercially recoverable reserve, despite abundant natural resources. And since 2021, Greenland has stopped issuing new oil and gas exploration licenses. Some previous licenses are still valid, but more government approval is needed to drill.
Harper mentions the recent military deal among the U.S., Denmark and Greenland.
According to the While House, the “landmark agreement” gives the U.S. lasting control over security interests in Greenland, meaning the U.S. has permanent basing rights and no U.S. adversary can establish such things as a base or military presence without American approval.
“That agreement was really aimed at putting to bed the tensions around the President Trump's threats to take control of Greenland, which is strategically located in the Arctic and is a very mineral-rich island,” Harper says.
Now, around the same time of the Greenland oil announcement, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has released a report that pushes back on the Trump administration’s Russian diesel deal, Harper notes.
According to the IEA, global diesel supplies will remain tight because of export struggles out of the Middle East due to the Iran war and attacks on Russian refineries as their war with Ukraine drags along, reports The Wall Street Journal.
“The report said that the Russian diesel agreement that (Trump) made will not affect global oil prices and actually warned that there will still be diesel shortages well into next year,” Harper said. “Not to mention the critiques that it undermines those U.S. sanctions that were recently placed on Russia.”
AFN reported previously on the Russian diesel deal and the skepticism and hesitance of some to fund Russia as the Ukraine war continues. A bipartisan group of senators has come together asking the Trump administration to “immediately reverse course” on the deal, despite it being an effort to lower fuel prices.
