PAIN AT THE PUMP?

Fuel Shortages Loom With Pipeline Still Shut After Ransomware Attack

Biden admin declares emergency to ease transportation as Colonial Pipeline struggles to say when it expected to safely relaunch operations.

The Biden administration has invoked emergency powers over the ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline, which shut down operations late Friday and has not been able to say when it expects to be back online. The Guardian reports the declaration will give transportation companies more flexibility within federal rules to haul jet fuel, gasoline, and other petroleum products to the affected states, as commuters start to return to offices and airlines gear up for a busy summer travel season. Still, the specter of shortages could push average gas prices well above $3 a gallon, and trading early Monday showed a 3 percent jump in futures to $2.217 a gallon, the highest since May 2018, Reuters reports. With no end in sight, traders are trying to line up tankers and barges to maintain supply to the East Coast while the pipeline, which carries up to 2.5 million barrels a day, is out of commission. “Atlanta will be one of the earlier sore spots, along with eastern Tennessee, and perhaps the Carolinas,” Gas Buddy analyst Patrick De Haan told Bloomberg News. Experts said they believe the cyberextortion attack was carried out by an outfit called DarkSide, a ransomware gang that claims it donates a cut of its proceeds to charity.