U.S.’s Biggest Gasoline and Pipeline Halted After Cyberattack

Signage is displayed on a fence at the Colonial Pipeline Co. Pelham junction and tank farm in Pelham, Alabama, U.S., on Monday, Sept. 19, 2016. Customers buying gasoline at grocery stores and other independent retailers may pay more than those shopping at name-brand outlets after the biggest gasoline pipeline in the U.S. sprung a leak in Alabama on Sept. 9. Colonial Pipeline Co. has proposed restarting the line on Sept. 22, according to the Alabama Emergency Management Agency. Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

Mike Jeffers, Bloomberg News

May 8, 2021

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(Bloomberg) -- Colonial Pipeline, the largest U.S. gasoline and diesel pipeline system, halted all operations Friday after a cybersecurity attack.

Colonial took certain systems offline to contain the threat which halted all operations and affected IT systems, the company said in a statement.

The artery is a crucial piece of infrastructure that can transport 2.5 million barrels a day of refined petroleum products from the Gulf Coast to Linden, New Jersey. It supplies gasoline, diesel and jet fuel to fuel distributors and airports from Houston to New York.

The pipeline operator engaged a third-party cybersecurity firm that has launched an investigation into the nature and scope of the incident. Colonial has also contacted law enforcement and other federal agencies.

Nymex gasoline futures rose 1.32 cents to settle at $2.1269 per gallon Friday in New York.

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