Trump now has his very own oil empire

LET'S DO THE math.

- JAVIER BLAS

Start with the oil production of the US and add Canada. Then include Venezuela and the rest of Latin America. Like it or not, all of them are living under the "Donroe Doctrine" - an increasingly belligerent Washington's sphere of influence over the Americas. Together they account for nearly 40% of the world's oil output. Then it's a choice of language to describe what the US administration will do with all those barrels. Whatever the word, President Donald Trump now has his very own oil empire.And I'm talking about actual barrels flowing into the market, not underground reserves that would take time and money to be developed. With such resources Trump has an economic and geopolitical lever no US president has had since Franklin D.Roosevelt in the 1940s. At home and nearby, his country can tap a vast sea of oil. Having de facto control of the Western Hemisphere's petroleum wealth is a geopolitical game changer. For decades, US military adventurism was constrained by the impact of any war on energy costs. Today the White House has primacy over oil-producing allies and adversaries alike - whether it's Saudi Arabia or Iran, Nigeria or Russia.