An undated photo shows holding tanks at Colonial Pipeline’s Linden Junction Tank Farm in Woodbridge, New Jersey, USA.
Colonial Pipelines | Reuters
Colonial Pipeline announced Monday afternoon that parts of its system are coming back online and hopes to get service back up by the end of the week.
“Parts of our pipeline will be gradually brought back into operation, in accordance with the relevant federal regulations and in close consultation with the Ministry of Energy, which directs and coordinates the response of the federal government,” said a statement from the company.
The company said the situation “remains fluid and evolving” and that it is following an incremental process of bringing sections back into service based on a step-by-step approach.
“This plan is based on a number of factors, security and compliance driving our operational decisions, and the goal of significantly restoring operational service by the end of the week,” the company said.
Gasoline futures were slightly higher on Wall Street early Monday afternoon after hitting their highest level in roughly three years during overnight trading.
“The initial price movement was a jerky response expected to have severe or prolonged effects on gasoline, heating oil and other products,” said Darwei Kung, head of raw materials at DWS Group. “I think people are just looking at the situation and understand that the disorder is likely not nearly as severe as the initial knee-jerk reaction would imply.”
The Colonial Pipeline, which operates the largest fuel transmission line from the Gulf Coast to the northeast, “suspended all pipeline operations” on Friday evening as a proactive measure following a ransomware cyberattack. A criminal group called DarkSide was responsible for the attack, the FBI confirmed.
The company announced on Sunday evening that some of its smaller side lines between terminals were back online, but the main lines were still down.
The pipeline is an important part of the US oil infrastructure and transports around 2.5 million barrels of gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil and jet fuel every day. The pipeline is more than 5,500 miles and carries nearly half of the east coast’s fuel supply. The system also supplies fuel to airports, including in Atlanta and Baltimore.
Map of the Colonial Pipelines Systems
Source: Colonial Pipelines
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