Meta Platforms Denies Accusations That It Is Censoring Protests In Iran

By RFE/RL staff - Sep 23, 2022

Meta Platforms has denied accusations by Iranian activists that its WhatsApp messaging platform has been working with the government to disrupt communications outside the country amid growing civil unrest over the death of a 22-year-old after she was arrested by morality police for failing to adhere to the country's strict rules on wearing a hijab.

Tehran has restricted the popular messaging service inside Iran as the protests over the death of Mahsa Amini last week spread countrywide. State TV says as many as 26 people may have died so far in the unrest.

Late on September 22, some users reported that their access to WhatsApp accounts abroad had also been disrupted, accusing tech giant Meta of collaborating with the Iranian government.

Iranian right activist Hossein Ronaghi was one of those who raised the question of whether Meta, the owner of WhatsApp, was intentionally causing such a disruption.

The company quickly denied any tie between the disruption and its actions.

"We exist to connect the world privately. We stand with the rights of people to access private messaging. We are not blocking Iranian numbers. We are working to keep our Iranian friends connected and will do anything within our technical capacity to keep our service up and running," WhatsApp said in a post on Twitter after the accusations surfaced.

The demonstrations were sparked by an emotional outpouring over the death of Amini, who authorities say died of a heart attack while in custody for allegedly violating the strictly enforced dress code regarding the hijab. Activists say she was beaten by security forces.

They also come on top of months of unrest over rising prices and poor living conditions that many Iranians blame on the country's leadership.

Despite the strong denial by Meta, some still questioned the company's role in the disruption and demanded a technical explanation about the reason for the disruption in WhatsApp -- and other Meta platforms such as Instagram -- of Iranians abroad.

Anonymous, the international activist hacker group, accused Meta of censoring the protests in Iran on its Twitter account, “just like they did to Myanmar, Syria, Palestine.”

Manoto TV, a London-based Persian-language television station, accused Meta of deleting a large number of videos from its Instagram page that were related to the protests in Iran and which were shared by the station with its 10 million followers.

Many Iranian journalists and social media activists have reported previous incidents where they say Meta had also removed many of their posts related to anti-government protests and accused Instagram's content-review subcontractor of blocking content related to the rise in anger against the authorities.

Bammad Esmaili, a German-based Iranian journalist, quoted several sources from the German branch of Telus International, a Canadian contractor that provides content moderation on Instagram, as saying that the Iranian government has offered financial rewards for the deletion of accounts opposing the Iranian government.

Esmaili did not provide any evidence. Meta has not commented on the accusations.

By RFE/RL

UK Still Struggling With Energy Shortages Despite Bringing Coal Plants Back

By Julianne Geiger - Sep 23, 2022

Even though the UK has brought online additional coal-fired power generation plants to survive the winter, it could still face energy shortages, according to a report from consultants Lane, Clark & Peacock.

Even if the UK increases its coal use, the country could still see 10 hours when supplied power is unable to meet the demand. As a result, the grid operator could be forced to cut off power to some energy-intensive users, the report said.

Gas and power prices are expected to be “exceptionally high” this winter in the UK.

Earlier this week, UK Prime Minister Liz Truss promised that the UK would not ration energy, and would not encourage her people to use less energy like some other countries in Europe. Truss is still firmly committed to standing up to Russia and enduring the resulting high electricity prices.

LCP reviewed one “pessimistic simulation” that factored in no interconnector imports, as France’s nuclear plant outages and Norway’s low hydro levels strips away supply during peak cold days. In that scenario, there could be 29 hours where power demand exceeds supply. That could be reduced to 10 hours if it taps into its winter reserves and supplements with coal-fired power generation.

“The irony is that as Europe baked during this summer’s heatwave, it was simultaneously sowing the seeds for further pain this winter. As a result of the extreme droughts and the lack of water that is hitting hydroelectric systems in key interconnector markets like Norway, coupled by the issues we are seeing in France with their nuclear reactors, there are significant doubts about the availability of electricity coming into GB from the continent which is critical to our security of supply,” Chris Matson, partner at LCP said.

Maston added that the current market pricing for the winter months are factoring in a “much bleaker outlook” as well as possible gas supply issues throughout Europe.

“I expect that this winter we will see coal play a crucial part in providing energy security,” Matson said.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

Belgium To Shut Nuclear Reactor On Friday Amid Energy Crunch

By Julianne Geiger - Sep 23, 2022

Belgium announced on Friday that its Doel 3 nuclear reactor will disconnect from the grid and cease operations, even as the country fears blackouts this winter. It is one of four reactors at the Doel plant near the port of Antwerp, and is the first nuclear reactor to shut down in Belgium’s plan to exit nuclear power completely.

The move moves even as thousands of Belgians took to the streets on Wednesday to protest soaring electricity prices and high costs of living. In a recent Belgian media poll, 64% of Belgians are concerned that they might not be able to pay their energy bills.

It also comes as Belgium stainless steel maker Aperam was forced to stop production as the high energy prices became untenable.

The decision to shut the reactors was made years ago, well before Europe’s energy crisis took hold. In 2011, it was decided to shut Belgian’s oldest reactors by 2015, and the rest by 2025. At that time, nuclear energy accounted for over half of the nation’s power consumption. In addition, under Belgium law, nuclear reactors have to stop producing electricity 40 years after installation, although some reactors in the country have been afforded extensions. While the Federal Interior Minister called for an extension for Doel 3, it was not granted.

The plan for Belgium’s nuclear power exit, hatched in 2011, was supposed to be contingent on finding enough energy from alternative sources to prevent power shortages.

The shutdowns are set to continue after Doel 3. In February, Belgium is planning to shutter Tihange 2—a nuclear reactor that has the unfortunate distinction of being located near the German border where nuclear power is decidedly out of favor, and as such, has found itself the target of activists.

For Belgium, the energy situation is dire. Earlier this week, Bart De Wever, Antwerp mayor and leader of the nationalist New Flemish Alliance party, said that Europe’s crisis could not be pinned on Putin. Instead, the crisis is one “that Europe has brought on itself by phasing out its own primary energy production this century.”

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

Kurdistan Exported $3.8 Billion Worth Of Oil Over Three Months

By Charles Kennedy - Sep 26, 2022

The autonomous Iraqi region of Kurdistan exported over 37 million barrels of crude oil over the three months to June this year, making $3.8 billion from the sales, local media reported.

Kurdistan has been exporting its oil independently of the central Iraqi government in Baghdad, but the latter appears to have grown unhappy with this state of affairs. Earlier this month, an official from the Iraqi oil ministry said that the government had advised international oil buyers not to do business with the Kurdish government.

The announcement followed an Iraqi Supreme Court ruling against a Kurdish law on oil and gas which was passed back in 2007. The government in Baghdad never recognized the law, which makes Kurdish exports of oil illegal from its perspective. According to Baghdad, Erbil is obliged to comply with the Supreme Court’s decision.

Iraq is OPEC’s second-largest producer of oil but political instability has plagued the country for years, interfering with its production growth plans. Tensions between Baghdad and Erbil have contributed to the instability.

A recent escalation of social unrest that led to violent clashes with protesters was the latest red flag, which prompted one analyst—RBC’s Helima Croft—to suggest Iraq could lose up to a million barrels daily in production if the escalation went further.

That was in late August when a prominent Iraqi Shia cleric said he would quit politics. Since then, things have quieted down but there are still ongoing protests in different parts of the country.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has urged Baghdad and Erbil to get together and discuss their oil and gas issues.

“The solution must come from the Iraqi fronts. It is not possible for the United States or any outside force to impose its opinions or impose a solution on the Iraqi people,” a State Department spokesman told Rudaw on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly that took place last week.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

Tesla Gigafactory Catches Fire In Germany

By ZeroHedge - Sep 26, 2022

A major fire appears to have broken out at Tesla's Berlin recycling plant, prompting a local group of environmentalists who have been fighting the company to call for Tesla to stop production. 

Overnight electrek reported that Tesla's on-site fire brigade called in help from the local fire department for an incident that took place at Gigafactory Berlin in the municipality of Grünheide. 

Local news reported that a "a large pile of cardboard and wood caught on fire at the recycling facility located at the factory". The report said that 800 cubic meters of paper, cardboard and wood caught fire. 

The blaze took 50 firefighters "hours" to get under control. 12 firefighters from Tesla's own brigade assisted with the fire. No injuries were reported and the fire did not spread to elsewhere on the facility. 

But one blaze set off another: environmentalists, who have been fighting Tesla every step of the way on the German plant, are now calling for a stop in production. A group called the citizens’ initiative Grünheide (BI) is calling for an "immediate stop" to production, electrek writes. 

A representative from the group commented: "Our worst fears have come true. We demand a production stop until the causes and circumstances have been clarified and all safety-related measures in the water protection area have been implemented."

Tesla has not issued an official comment as of yet. 

By Zerohedge.com

 Half Of France’s Refinery Capacity Goes Offline As Worker Strike

By Michael Kern - Sep 27, 2022, 

Strikes at several refineries across France have left half of its refineries offline or without sending out fuels, as refinery workers stepped up industrial actions over pay disputes this week 

Three of TotalEnergies’ refineries and a storage site are not sending fuel as of Tuesday, an official at the French union CGT told Reuters.

The 240,000 barrel per day (bpd) Gonfreville oil refinery operated by TotalEnergies, the 119,000 bpd Feyzin oil refinery, La Mede biorefinery, and the Cote d’Opale storage site near Dunkirk are not sending fuel currently, CGT delegate Thierry Defresne told Reuters.   

The strike is expected to continue until September 29.

Together with the strike at the ExxonMobil refineries, around half of France’s refinery capacity is currently offline.

France’s crude refining capacity is just over 1.4 million bpd, the fourth highest in Europe after Germany, Italy, and Spain, according to the Oil & Gas Journal data cited by the EIA.

TotalEnergies has prepared logistically ahead of the announced strike, a spokesperson told Reuters.

“In anticipation of the strike, TotalEnergies has taken the necessary logistical measures to be able to supply its service station network and its customers normally,” the spokesperson said.

ExxonMobil, for its part, is continuing its dialogue with unions after shutting down the 240,000-bpd Port Jerome-Gravenchon and the 235,000-bpd Fos-Sur-Mer refineries at the end of last week,

The disruption at the French refinery comes amid a worsening energy crisis in Europe, which is trying to procure non-Russian sources of crude ahead of an EU embargo on imports from Russia by sea as of early December.  

Currently, Europe still imports over 1 million bpd of Russian crude, attempting to fill up before the EU-wide embargo on Russian oil imports by sea comes into effect.

Yet, the global oil market will have to prepare itself for a loss of 2.4 million bpd supply when the EU embargo kicks in; an additional 1 million bpd of products and 1.4 million bpd of crude will have to find new homes, the IEA said.  

By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com