DFW Area Shouldn't Have Problems With Gas Supply Or Prices Following Ransomware Attack On Pipeline
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - It's been three days since one of America's most important oil pipelines was forced to shut down due to a ransomware attack that's being attributed to a cyber criminal group.
The Colonial Pipeline feeds about 45% of the East Coast's demand for fuels.
"They're working to get other means to transport that gasoline, but it's still impacting gas prices," Director of the SMU Cox Maguire Energy Institute Bruce Bullock said.
He said on the East Coast, gas prices were up $.07-$.10 Monday, but in DFW we shouldn't see a great deal of impact.
"There's plenty of gas for this part of the country," he said. "We get virtually nothing from the Colonial Pipeline. They anticipate getting it back up possibly next weekend."
"There's an ample gas supply in the U.S. and in Texas and in DFW so it's just a matter of getting deliveries to stations to meet demand," Josh Zuber, with AAA, said.
Now, he said it's important to not panic at the pump.
"If people do panic it could impact prices," Bullock said.
The White House has declared a State of Emergency.
"The Department of Energy's working directly with Colonial to get the pipelines back online and operating at full capacity as quickly and safely as possible," said President Joe Biden on Monday, May 10. "The FBI also is engaged to assess and address this attack."
"That is a huge huge hit," Bullock said. "They're going to have to look closely where the vulnerability was."
Figuring out exactly how the Russian group "DarkSide" was able to penetrate and what other types of facilities might be vulnerable to the same type of attack.