According to Ingeniøren, the Greenland government is dropping the dream of a big oil adventure. Instead, the focus is on investing the country’s fishing sector.
The “Government of Greenland” has chosen not to continue research into oil in and around Greenland.
The “Government of Greenland” has chosen not to continue research into oil in and around Greenland. has estimated that the environmental impact of oil exploration and extraction is too great, Minister of Raw Materials Naaja H. Nathanielsen told Ingeniøren.
- And the resources we spend on keeping alive the dream of an oil adventure can be better used in other parts of our business community.
The future is not oil. The future belongs to renewable energy, and in this respect we have a lot to gain, the Minister goes on to say.
Consideration of the vulnerable Arctic environment, the burgeoning tourism and the country’s main source of income, catch and fishing, are also cited as reasons for dropping trying to find oil.
Furthermore, the government’s calculations suggest that there will be no commercial interest in oil exploration in Greenland in the future.
Several investors have also announced that they will not investigate in the Arctic because the risk is too high in relation to the gain.
According to The Engineer, there are four active hydrocarbon search licenses that Greenland is obliged to keep active for as long as licensees investigate.
The company behind one of the four licenses has already expressed a desire to return the license.
Both the environmental organisation Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund WWF welcome the Greenlandic decision.
It is estimated that in the west Greenland underground alone there are about 18 billion barrels of oil.
The Greenlandic government, which took power after the April elections, has already delivered on election promises to stop plans for uranium mining in South Greenland.
Grønland dropper olieplaner – vil beskytte natur og fiskeri – Søfart (soefart.dk)
Greenland is the world’s largest island and an autonomous Danish dependent territory with limited self-government and its own parliament. Denmark contributes two thirds of Greenland’s budget revenue, the rest coming mainly from fishing.
Greenland belongs to Denmark and the Danish people!
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