(Bloomberg) — North America’s most extensive petroleum pipeline may take several more days to recover from a cyberattack that forced it to halt shipments of gasoline and other fuels, raising the specter for shortages if local reserves run out.
Colonial Pipeline said segments of its Texas-to-New Jersey line are being brought back online in steps, easing some of the most immediate concerns that pumps in significant population centers up and down the U.S. East Coast could run dry. The question now is whether regional inventories held in storage tanks are enough to satisfy demand while Colonial works on resuming operations.
Since late Friday, the conduit has been shut down, prompting traders and retailers to frenzied moves to secure alternative supplies. On Monday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation pointed the finger at a ransomware gang known as DarkSide. A White House official said that the pipeline hadn’t suffered any physical damage, and no fuel shortages have been detected.
Emergency shipments of gasoline and diesel from Texas are already on the way to Atlanta and other southeast cities via trucks, and at least one Gulf Coast refinery began trimming output amid expectations that supplies will start backing up in the nation’s oil-refining nexus. Airlines flying out of Philadelphia International Airport are burning through jet-fuel reserves and will need to locate new supplies “soon,” a spokeswoman said.
Government officials haven’t advised Colonial on whether it ought to pay the ransom, Deputy National Security Adviser for Cyber and Emerging Technologies Anne Neuberger said during a briefing.
According to AAA, the national average retail gasoline price rose to $2.967 a gallon on Monday, a 2.4% increase from Friday. The premium for wholesale gasoline in the New York area expanded to its widest in three months.
