New York, May 10 – The price of intermediate oil from Texas (WTI) opened this Monday with a rise of 0.62%, to $ 65.30 a barrel, after the cyberattack and the paralysis of the largest network US pipeline company, Colonial, this weekend.
At 09.05 local time (13.05 GMT), WTI futures contracts for June delivery totaled $ 0.40 compared to the close of the previous session.
Colonial revealed that it had to paralyze all its operations on Friday due to a “ransomware” attack in which a group of hackers blocked access to the company’s computers and asked for money to free them.
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, lifted this Sunday the restrictions on the transport of fuel by road to avoid shortages, given the interruption in the 8,850 kilometers of oil pipelines managed by Colonial.
The company transports up to 2.5 million barrels of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel per day from refineries in the Gulf of Mexico to the south and east of the US, which has skyrocketed the prices of those products.
“It is not often that hackers hit such crucial infrastructure as the Colonial pipeline in the US, but such an event and the fear associated with prolonged shutdowns has gripped investors’ minds, and is raising prices. oil prices, “said Rystad Energy analyst Louise Dickson.
“This interruption comes as the US continues to open up its economy, boosting the demand outlook,” said Sophie Griffiths, from the firm Oanda, who pointed out as bearish factors the outbreak of covid-19 in Australia that has led to new restrictions the crisis in India, which could impose a national lockdown.