Run on gas

Alyssa Ridenour
ECB Publishing, Inc.

On Friday, May 7, the Colonial Pipeline was shut down due to a cyberattack on the company's computer systems. The pipeline runs from the Gulf Coast to New Jersey and provides almost half of the East Coast's gasoline. The pipeline is the largest in the country and is responsible for transporting over 100 million gallons of fuel daily. The cyberattack that disabled the pipeline is currently believed to be the largest successful cyberattack on an oil infrastructure in the history of the United States.
There's no doubt that the Colonial Pipeline is critical to the Eastern United States. However, many sources are urging consumers not to panic and explaining that while the shutdown is certainly an inconvenience, it is not what's causing the shortage. Consumers flooding into the gas stations and panic buying fuel is the primary cause of the issue at hand.
Many fuel stations are now placing limits on how much fuel an individual can purchase. This is being done in an effort to avoid running out of gas since so many people are buying gas in large quantities and filling their tanks sooner than they normally would.
There is more than one issue that has arisen amidst this fuel panic. The demand for gas has skyrocketed, and when the demand for fuel goes up, so does the price. In a matter of just a couple of days, the average cost of gas along the East Coast has risen to approximately $3 per gallon for regular unleaded fuel, which is the highest average seen since 2014.
The Wall Street Journal reported the demand for gas has increased by an average of 20 percent across the United States, and in some states, the demand has risen by as much as 40 percent.
Manager Mike Waring at the Busy Bee, located at 363 E. Base St., in Madison, stated, “If people will quit panicking and just buy normal fuel as they usually would, this would not have become a major issue. The other day, we sold as much gas in one day as we normally would in four. There is a delay with the pipeline, slowing down delivery of fuel, but that will not stop us from having gas. There is plenty of gas. It is just having to be rerouted. It is a big inconvenience, but people panicking is causing a shortage.”
Kevin Patel of the Monticello Shell station said, “We did run out of gas on Monday, but we received about 4,000 gallons of gas on Wednesday. We have gas now, but have no scheduled deliveries in the near future and no idea of when the next delivery will be.”
Stewart Wheeler, owner of Stewarts Towing and the Marathon gas station on the courthouse circle, did state that they did run out of gas for a few hours, but have been resupplied and have gas available for sale now.
In lieu of the panic, images have begun circulating online of people putting gasoline into unregulated and unapproved containers such as milk jugs, plastic bags, barrels, etc. These are not approved containers and putting gas into containers that are not regulated to contain fuel can be hazardous. This has prompted the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to post a Twitter thread advising the community not to put fuel into unregulated containers. Some of their tweets read as follows: “Do not fill plastic bags with gasoline,” “Use only containers approved for fuel,” and “Follow the gas canister manufacturer instructions for storing and transporting gasoline.” They provided further advice in another part of their Twitter thread by stating, “We know this sounds simple, but when people get desperate, they stop thinking clearly. They take risks that can have deadly consequences. If you know someone who is thinking about bringing a container not meant for fuel to get gas, please let them know it's dangerous.”
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also commented on the panic purchases surrounding gasoline in a White House briefing. “Hoarding does not make things better,” he stated. “And under no circumstances should gasoline ever be put into anything but a vehicle directly or an approved container.”
In response to the fuel crisis, the Biden Administration has released certain restrictions surrounding the transportation of fuel in an attempt to get fuel transported to the East Coast quicker. The Department of Transportation has issued a regional state of emergency for the East Coast in response to the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline. The state of emergency affects 17 states, as well as the District of Colombia.
Airlines are also affected by the shutdown and are having to reschedule flights as they wait for fuel to come in. The Environmental Protection Agency recently issued an emergency waiver for fuel air emissions in an effort to tackle the crisis.
As for the cyberattack itself, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been investigating the situation. The attack was a ransomware attack, meaning the attacker takes data and demands money or some other form of compensation in exchange for the return of the data. The attackers reportedly stole 100 gigabytes of data from the Colonial Pipeline, and it is unknown what their demands are at this time. The FBI reports that the attack was the work of a Russian hacking group, known online as “DarkSide.” Bloomberg released a report on the incident, stating, “Colonial was threatened that the stolen data would be leaked to the internet while the information that was encrypted by the hackers on computers inside the network would remain locked unless it paid a ransom, said [people familiar with the matter], who asked not to be identified, because the information isn't public.”
Although the pipeline was back online Thursday, May 13, it may take several days for the situation to return to normal.
Remember, remaining calm and being rational is the best approach to this situation. Do not panic buy, and trust officials to handle the issue accordingly.