Colonial pipeline outage in the United States underscores risks to energy supplies

One and a half months after the Suez Canal disruption, a cyber ransom attack on the world’s largest oil pipeline system has highlighted the growing range of risks to energy supply.
 
The energy security risks from disruption to the Colonial pipeline are potentially more significant for the markets it serves than March’s shutdown of the Suez Canal. That pipeline supplies 40-45% of the fuel consumed in the Eastern United States, a region with little oil production of its own, a small and declining refining sector, and gasoline inventories covering just 20 days of demand.