Drivers across the East Coast are piling into gas stations, resulting in long lines and shortages as motorists cope with what could be a weeklong shutdown of the nation’s largest fuel pipeline because of a cyberattack.
Colonial Pipeline Co., operator of a 5,500-mile conduit for gasoline, diesel and refined products, said Monday it hoped to substantially restore service by the end of the week. It shut the pipeline late last week after a ransomware attack that U.S. officials have linked to a criminal gang known as DarkSide.
The Colonial pipeline runs from Texas to New Jersey and carries about 45% of the fuel consumed on the East Coast, according to the company’s website. The shutdown is particularly worrisome for Southeastern states, including North and South Carolina, Virginia and Georgia; they have fewer sources of fuel compared with states farther up the Atlantic coast.
In Raleigh, N.C., area on Tuesday, cars were lined up 30 deep to access a dozen pumps at a BJ’s Wholesale Club . Lines three-cars long waited to fuel up at a Sheetz convenience store near Raleigh-Durham International Airport, one of the rare area stations that still had fuel.
Jackson Arnold visited two stations without luck before finding gas at Sheetz for his Jeep, which he said guzzles fuel on his 20-mile daily commute. “I guess it pays to have a Prius right now instead of a 12-mile-per-gallon truck,” Mr. Arnold said.
