Top U.S. fuel pipeline operator Colonial Pipeline will receive aid from the White House to help it recover from a ransomware attack that forced the company to shut a critical fuel network supplying populous eastern states. The attack has prompted calls from American lawmakers to strengthen protections for critical U.S. energy infrastructure from hacking attacks.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Sunday that the pipeline fix was a top priority for the Biden administration and Washington was working to avoid more severe fuel supply disruptions by helping Colonial restart as quickly as possible its more than 5,500-mile (8,850 km) pipeline network from Texas to New Jersey.
Colonial said on Sunday its main fuel lines remain offline but some smaller lines between terminals and delivery points are now operational. Colonial transports roughly 2.5 million barrels per day of gasoline and other fuels from refiners on the Gulf Coast to consumers in the mid-Atlantic and southeastern United States. Neither Raimondo nor the company gave an estimate for a restart date.
