Monday, 10 May 2021_The southeastern United States will be the first to experience price hikes at the pumps because of the supply disruption following a cyberattack that shut the largest US gasoline pipeline, experts warned on Sunday.
On Friday, Colonial Pipeline, which transfers gasoline and jet fuel from Texas to New York, said in a statement it shuttered thousands of kilometers of pipeline network in an attempt to contain the security breach.
“On May 7, the Colonial Pipeline Company learned it was the victim of a cybersecurity attack. In response, we proactively took certain systems offline to contain the threat, which has temporarily halted all pipeline operations and affected some of our IT systems,” the company said in its statement.
Since Friday, demand for gasoline has increased as drivers fill their tanks.
States including Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee depend on the line for most of their fuel supplies.
The states, which suffered localized shortages and higher prices during previous shutdowns, are expected to experience the same problem.
On Saturday, demand in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee increased by around 4.3% in comparison to a week earlier, according to Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at fuel tracking firm GasBuddy.
DeHaan called on drivers to avoid panic buying.
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