Oil gains 1% as cyber attack forces U.S. fuel ‘jugular’ pipeline shutdown

Crude prices rose over 1% on Monday following a major cyberattack that forced U.S. critical fuel supply pipelines to shut down, emphasizing the fragility of oil infrastructure.

Brent crude rose 1.1%, or 76 cents, at $69.04 per barrel, after climbing 1.5% last week. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were up 1.1%, or 70 cents, at $65.60 per barrel, following a 2% increase last week. 

The White House worked with Colonial Pipeline to recover from the ransomware attack that forced the biggest U.S. fuel pipeline operator to close a network supplying eastern states.

Colonial’s network is the source of almost half of the U.S. East Coast’s fuel supply, transferring 2.5 million bpd of gasoline and other fuels. 

U.S. gasoline prices rose almost 2%, while heating oil climbed by over 1%. The cyberattack urged American lawmakers to call for the strengthening of critical U.S. energy infrastructure from hacking attacks.

The U.S. Department of Energy said it was keeping tabs on potential impacts to the country’s energy supply.