Trump Greenland, Arctic and Strait of Hormuz
by Jolyon: Donald Trump
Start with the Strait of Hormuz and Greenland starts to look different. Drones have shown that Iran and the Houthis can throw a wrench into world oil supplies without much effort, and that changes the whole energy picture. Meanwhile the Arctic is climbing up America's national security list, and Russia isn't standing still up there, having just opened an oil export terminal inside the Arctic Circle. So was Trump's Greenland push really an oil play? The answer given is no, that U.S. national security sat at the center of it. Nailing down Greenland's status also settles what happens if it keeps heading toward sovereignty. Trump himself framed the choice as doing something with Greenland the nice way or the more difficult way. The question left hanging is how much oil weighed against future security in that calculation. GL_Energy_Co sat down for an exclusive interview covering the thinking behind the deal, the Arctic as a possible flashpoint, and how the Middle East mess ties in.
Transcript (en)
So we're going to be doing something with Greenland either the nice way or the more difficult way. Is it fair to say that the deal with Greenland was always mainly about oil? How big of a role did security play in Trump's decision to make that deal? I would say no. It was not all about oil. But it's really about U.S. national security. The Arctic Circle, it's the next hot point. Russia just opened up an oil export terminal in the Arctic Circle. So I think this kind of tied it all up in a nice bow. In giving clarity to Greenland, it removes the uncertainty of what happens if Greenland does continue down a path of becoming a sovereign nation. The whole energy market has been changed with what's going on in the Strait of Hormuz. There's a new type of warfare, and that is drones. Iran has been empowered. The Houthis have been empowered to be able to disrupt the world oil supply and actually world economies. What we're doing in Greenland, we have a solution.
