WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th May, 2021) The oil pipeline running down the East Coast of the United States will be operating fully again by midday, Colonial Pipeline System announced on Thursday.
"Colonial Pipeline has made substantial progress in safely restarting our pipeline system and can report that product delivery has commenced in a majority of the markets we service," the company said in a media statement. "By midday today, we project that each market we service will be receiving product from our system."
Colonial Pipeline announced on Wednesday that it had initiated the restart of operations after halting them due to a ransomware cyberattack, but would need several days to return to normal. The East Coast has been experiencing fuel shortages since the shutdown and citizens rushed to stock up on fuel out of fear of future shortages.
"[S]ubstantial progress is safely restarting our pipeline system and [we] can report that product delivery has commenced in a majority of the markets we service," the Thursday statement said.
Earlier in the day, US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a tweet that delivery of fuel through the pipeline will resume normal operation by the week's end.
According to the FBI, the company was attacked with ransomware allegedly developed by the Russian hacking collective DarkSide. President Joe Biden cited intelligence data as saying that there was no evidence Russia was behind the attack.
