Trump: ‘Massive’ oil, gas, mineral exploration set to begin in Greenland

President Trump announced early Wednesday that “massive” oil, gas and mineral exploration is “getting ready to begin” in Greenland .

The president’s brief post on Truth Social pointed to the Danish territory’s plentiful oil supplies and natural resources but offered few details about the new initiative.

“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 and, even more importantly, from a Security Purpose in the Defense and Offense of both the United States of America, and Europe, is second to none,” Trump wrote overnight.

“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,” he continued. “It gives us time, location, and sightline, like nowhere else in the World!”

The announcement follows his administration’s decision to enter into a security agreement last month with Denmark and Greenland, which sought to calm tensions between the two sides after Trump repeatedly threatened to seize the Arctic island.

The deal was largely aimed toward strengthening military readiness in the region, allowing the U.S. to expand military bases in the territory. It also includes provisions on resource extraction and “minerals cooperation” for the involved parties.

However, Greenland’s deputy mining minister Jørgen Hammeken-Holm rejected the immediacy of the president’s announcement, telling CNN in an interview that the island was “very far away from ‘massive’ exploration.”

“There are many smaller explorations underway, but these could take years to become operational,” he added, referencing the issues researchers have encountered in attempting to obtain Greenland’s natural resources.

Rare earth minerals in the region are often encased in rock, and the offshore oil and gas deposits are covered by Arctic ice, making extraction expensive and labor-intensive.

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.