There are high expectations in Greenland that oil will secure the country's economic future. The vision is a self-sustaining economy, and through that the possibility for full independence from Denmark.
How realistic are the prospects, then? Michael Holmgren and Erik Ronnle, two master students at Lund University, have written a thesis to answer that. The work was carried out during the spring of 2012. This site presents our findings.
Our thesis shows that it is likely that oil will be found in Greenland. The predicted economic value of the oil for the Greenlandic state is, however, less encouraging. We also review how the resource curse might affect Greenland and conclude that there is a potential to improve the institutions. A strong media and a transparent administration are key to manage an oil economy. At the end, we include recommendations for policymakers in Greenland.
A summary of our results and recommendations are found in the mini report.
We have published an article on the topic of oil in Greenland in the Swedish publication Liberal Debatt. Read the article in Swedish.
This thesis has won the prestigious Bertil Ohlin Institute thesis competition. Read the full press release in Swedish.
The report is now published online