Claude Salhani

Latest articles from Claude

• Israel’s Oil Platforms in Jeopardy and the Samson Syndrome

  Published 04 February 2014 | viewed 15,862 times

  Are Hezbollah and Israel preparing for the next war? Everything seems to indicate that they are, despite the fact that all logic dictates that they…

• Where is US Foreign Policy these Days?

  Published 28 January 2014 | viewed 7,088 times

  There is a remarkable absence of a comprehensive US foreign policy in the Middle East with the Obama administration missing the beat on just about…

• Winds of Change are Shifting in Arabia

  Published 21 January 2014 | viewed 11,232 times

  Throughout the years of the Cold War the oil-rich Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was the stability that kept the tumultuous Middle East in check. The…

• It’s all in the Pipeline

  Published 14 January 2014 | viewed 5,323 times

  Producing oil or extracting natural gas from the ground is only part of the problem; the other part is getting the product to market in…

• The Volatile Middle East; Oil and Turmoil

  Published 08 January 2014 | viewed 12,136 times

  In recent history the Middle East has always been an area of turmoil, where wars came and went and conflicts were interrupted by long periods…

• Oil Money Supports Middle East Uprising

  Published 04 January 2014 | viewed 9,881 times

  The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the Mideast’s enigmatic paradoxes. It is a country made up of many contradictions, from laws touching upon…

• Saudi Arabia ups the Ante as it Opens up a New Pipeline

  Published 02 January 2014 | viewed 7,455 times

  Saudi Arabia has established a new pipeline linking the Lebanese military to its bank accounts. The kingdom has promised to pump some $3 billion of…

• US to Become Less Dependent on Foreign Oil -- be Careful What you Wish for

  Published 18 December 2013 | viewed 43,720 times

  The US Energy Information Administration released on Tuesday an early version of its Annual Energy Outlook for 2014.  The main item being that the United…

• Azerbaijan: Oil, Natural Gas and No Complicated Politics

  Published 11 December 2013 | viewed 13,268 times

  Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic on the Caspian Sea, has the proper mix of abundant natural resources and uncomplicated politics making it attractive to Washington.…

• The Mumbo-Jumbo of the Oil Markets

  Published 04 December 2013 | viewed 7,469 times

  There is something awfully similar between black crude oil and black magic; both are equally incomprehensible to the uninitiated and only insiders understand how it…

• What Lifting the Sanctions on Iran Means… to Saudi Arabia

  Published 27 November 2013 | viewed 20,203 times

  The long standing mistrust that exists between Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia runs deep and involves far more than diverging view in politics…

• How Prepared is the Oil Industry for a Cyber War?

  Published 14 November 2013 | viewed 13,315 times

  The next major conflict, if there is ever going to be one, will likely be very different from all past conventional wars we have seen…

• Why Syria is Important to Iran?

  Published 05 November 2013 | viewed 14,476 times

  Remember Bill Clinton’s catchy slogan “it’s all about the economy, stupid?"  Well when it comes to the Middle East, it’s all about the oil.  The…

• Oil and Politics: Who will Take over from the US in the Middle East?

  Published 29 October 2013 | viewed 25,927 times

  There is little doubt that politics as we knew it in the Middle East is changing right before our very eyes and with that shift…

• Clash of the Oil Titans

  Published 22 October 2013 | viewed 10,409 times

  Saudi Arabia and Iran, two titans of the oil industry, are heading for a headlong confrontation in what could result in a destructive and devastating…

• The Might of the Petro-Dollars at Work Once Again

  Published 15 October 2013 | viewed 9,623 times

  Petro-dollars, the word used to describe the billions of dollars earned from the sale of oil and natural gas, have helped change the shape and…

• How Global Economies will Change Once Robots Replace Soldiers

  Published 08 October 2013 | viewed 8,313 times

  If you thought the use of drones was a bad idea, think again. It was just the tip of the iceberg. What is to come…

• Middle East and North Africa to be Split into 14 Independent States?

  Published 02 October 2013 | viewed 10,471 times

  A recent report emerged earlier this week indicating that five countries in the Middle East and North Africa could soon split up to reform themselves…

• On the Right Path

  Published 25 September 2013 | viewed 9,656 times

  When looking at a map of the Middle East and North Africa there is little room for optimism with militant Islamists gaining prominence to varying…

• US-Russian Agreement Over Syria Brings Oil Under $107

  Published 17 September 2013 | viewed 10,293 times

  The diplomatic rabbit that Russia pulled out of its hat (actually out of John Kerry’s hat) by suggesting that Syria could hand over its chemical…