Crude oil, refined product prices jump after Colonial pipeline cyberattack
Colonial pipeline primary artery for gasoline, refined products for South, East Coast
US declared a state of emergency following the attack
ICE Brent July contract up about 0.4% from previous settle
Singapore — 0346 GMT: Crude oil and refined product prices jumped during the mid-morning trade in Asia May 10, after a cybersecurity breach caused a disruption in operations of the US Colonial pipeline that supplies about 45% of all the gasoline and diesel fuel consumed on the East Coast.
At 11:46 am Singapore time (0346 GMT), the ICE Brent July contract was up 29 cents/b (0.42%) from the May 7 settle at $68.57/b, while the June NYMEX light sweet crude contract was up 19 cents/b (0.29%) at $64.90/b.
Meanwhile, for refined products, the NYMEX November RBOB contract was trading 2.81 cents/gal (1.32%) higher than the May 7 settle at $2.1550/gal and NYMEX November ULSD contract was up by 2.11 cents/gal (1.06%) at $2.0106/gal.
Margaret Yang, DailyFX strategist, told S&P Global Platts on May 10 that the rise in prices seen this morning were the result of the cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline, which led to fears of fuel supply shortages in the country.
The Colonial pipeline is primary artery for gasoline and refined products for much of the South and East Coast. It delivers more than 100 million gal/d of fuel and heating oil to these regions.
According to media reports, even though operation on the smaller lines between terminals and delivery points had resumed, main lines remain offline, with no timeline given to the resumption of operations.
“We are in the process of restoring service to other laterals and will bring our full system back online only when we believe it is safe to do so, and in full compliance with the approval of all federal regulations,” The Colonial Pipeline Company said on May 9.
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