Greenland Halts Oil Exploration

Greenland’s self-rule authority, the Naalakkersuisut, halts new licenses for oil exploration, Sermitsiaq reports. Raw Materials Minister Naaja H. Nathanielsen announced the news last week and said the decision was made due to environmental and climate concerns.

There is assumed to be major deposits of oil and gas underneath Greenlandic soil and seabed, and the decision received widespread international attention.

Nathanielsen says future exploration activity in Greenland will primarily focus on minerals.