Danish soldiers walk across the frozen tarmac after arriving at Nuuk airport, Greenland, on January 19, 2026.
Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images
Oil And Gas:
Q1. Is there oil and gas in Greenland? Yes. The best potential for oil and gas is offshore of eastern Greenland. However, in the Southwest basin, 25 wells have been drilled, all dry holes. Several oil majors have held exploration leases, but have since exited Greenland. These include Shell, Eni, Equinor and ExxonMobil.
Q2. How much oil and gas could there be? 31 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) have been estimated by the U.S. Geological Survey, based on technically recoverable criterion. This is far less than in other countries. Venezuela contains the largest proven oil reserves in the world at 303 billion barrels. Saudi Arabia is No. 2 at 267 billion barrels. Iran is No. 3 at 209 billion barrels. Russia is well down at 80 billion barrels, while the U.S. has just 45 billion barrels. On the other hand, 31 billion barrels could be viewed as a substantial boost for a country that is world-class in finding and producing offshore oil like the U.S. in the Gulf of America.
Q3. What are the obstacles to drilling and producing oil in Greenland? First, onshore drilling: 80% of the country is covered by the Greenland ice sheet which averages one mile thick. The regions that are not ice bound would only be accessible by helicopter, as there are virtually no paved roads. Most of Greenland’s population lives in the ice-free coastal regions in the south and west.
Ice-bound Greenland.
Wikipedia
Second, offshore drilling: Again, ice is the problem, because most of Greenland (67-80%) lies within the Arctic circle, and much of the surrounding ocean is only accessible by boat for a short time in the summer. At other times you need icebreakers which are in short supply, except in Russia. Although the U.S. has drilled some offshore wells in southern Alaska, starting from scratch in Greenland which has no onshore oil and gas infrastructure makes it very inhospitable and a costly place to launch new business.
To illustrate the ice challenge, the Northwest Passage, which starts west of Greenland, skirts eastern Canada, and ends between Alaska and Russia, is best navigated in mid-September when sea ice is a minimum—even though global warming is making these sea-ice routes more navigable. The economic potential of such routes is they can cut shipping travel by 13,600 km, or 8,500 miles, when compared with the Panama Canal route.
Rare Earths And Other Minerals:
Q4. Why the sudden interest in Greenland minerals? Greenland contains a large fraction of “critical raw materials,” or CRMs, that are needed for electronics in phones and computers (think robots or high-grade semiconductor chips for AI data centers), for high tech operations in military and defense (missiles, radar and jet fighters), and for green energy (batteries for cars, home, and grids). Greenland is home to 25 of 34 CRMs identified by the European Commission, including graphite, niobium, and titanium.
Q5. Is Greenland unique in respect to its minerals? The answer is no. One key to CRM formation in Greenland is the geological development, which has been long and varied. The oldest rocks and materials on Earth are found in Australia, Canada, and Greenland, with ages spanning 3.7 to 4.4 billion years. The oldest material is 4.4-billion-year-old zircon crystals from Western Australia. In Australia and Canada, mining has been commercially extensive. Australia has been called the “lucky country” in this regard. And yes, Australia is well-positioned to help provide the U.S. with rare earth elements, either unprocessed or processed.
Q6. What mining activities exist in Greenland? The short answer is relatively none. The severe weather in the Arctic is one reason. A paucity of infrastructure and a tiny labor force are also factors. According to Wood Mackenzie, exploration permits have been given for 100 blocks across the island, but only two mines are productive. The business case is not there because fieldwork testing requires energy in remote regions of the country, and overall extractions costs are just too high.
Q7. Is Greenland an alternative to China’s dominance in rare earths?
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), China produces 61% and processes 92% of the world’s rare earths. It’s easy to see that China controls the supply chain, and this is what concerns the west.
But Australia, a close ally, also mines rare earths, and is one of just a few countries in the world that processes rare earths, other than China. The country, rich in minerals, is also advanced in energy technology.
Earlier this year, the government of Australia appointed sizeable funding that included mining and processing of rare earths. The overt goal was to shore up Australia’s security, but also with an eye to helping the U.S. which was threatened by the trade impasse with China.
President Trump and Prime Minister Albanese recently signed an agreement that is a framework of plans to add a joint pipeline of projects for rare earths and critical minerals worth $8.5 billion. One joint venture includes Japan along with Australia and the U.S. The Pentagon will also be involved.
Greenland, therefore, is not the only alternative to China in regard to rare earth supplies for the U.S. Agreements with Australia and Japan, and private U.S. companies, will ensure U.S. access to rare earths. But the unsettling open question is why would the U.S. need to control the island to access Greenland’s resources?
Q8. What does Greenland recommend for its minerals? The Center for Minerals and Materials (MiMa) at GEUS has just published a report which assesses the potential for critical raw materials in Greenland. Although the potential for minerals is great, the mapping of deposits is sparse compared to other countries. This needs to be expedited to attract the interest of mining companies. Diogo Rosa, Senior Researcher in Economic Geology at GEUS and first author of the report, said that resource estimates need to be quantified up to modern standards by better mapping to identify mineral targets.