Texas May Be Affected After Colonial Gas Pipeline Shutdown

TEXAS — Texas is one of several states that could be affected by shortages and impacted fuel prices after a cyberattack prompted a shutdown of a major gasoline pipeline in New Jersey.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration declared an emergency in response to the "unanticipated shutdown" of the Colonial pipeline, which supplies gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other petroleum products through New Jersey and other impacted states and territories.

The company says it delivers 45 percent of the fuel used in the East Coast. CNN reported that gas prices could rise over $3 in Texas and elsewhere.

The impacted states and territories include Alabama, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan said Saturday the challenges brought on by the Colonial Pipeline shut down would likely not appear for several days more days or longer.

"My guess is they'll be able to restart the pipeline before any major issues develop. This should NOT be a pricing event- but this may be a supply event," De Haan said.

NBC News reported that a "Russian criminal group" may be responsible for a ransomware attack that shut down the major U.S. fuel pipeline, two sources familiar with the matter said Sunday. The group, known as DarkSide, has a "sophisticated approach to the business of extortion," the sources said.

Fuel shortages could happen because of the shutdown, federal officials said. The emergency declaration provides for regulatory relief and assistance in supporting emergency relief efforts to transport gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other refined petroleum products into New Jersey and other affected states.

Colonial Pipeline Co. said it learned it was the victim of a cybersecurity attack and has since determined that the incident involved ransomware.

Quickly after learning of the attack, Colonial said it "proactively took certain systems offline to contain the threat."

"These actions temporarily halted all pipeline operations and affected some of our IT systems, which we are actively in the process of restoring," the company said.

Cybersecurity experts were also immediately engaged after discovering the issue and launched an investigation into the nature and scope of the incident, the company said.

"We have remained in contact with law enforcement and other federal agencies, including the Department of Energy, who is leading the Federal government response," the company said.

Maintaining the operational security of the pipeline, in addition to safely bringing systems back online, remains the company's highest priority, Colonial said. Over the past 48 hours, Colonial pipeline personnel say they have taken additional precautionary measures to help further monitor and protect the safety and security of its pipeline.

"At this time, our primary focus continues to be the safe and efficient restoration of service to our pipeline system, while minimizing disruption to our customers and all those who rely on Colonial Pipeline," the company said. "We appreciate the patience and outpouring of support we have received from others throughout the industry."