Biden administration to address energy cybersecurity, pushing energy transition: Granholm

US President Joe Biden's administration will address the vulnerability of the nation's pipelines and other energy assets in the wake of the Colonial Pipeline hacking attack, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said May 13.

"These pipes are carrying energy to all Americans," said Granholm, speaking remotely to the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference. "There is a particular concern that some don't have sufficient cyber protection on their systems. The administration is going to have more to say about this."

Colonial Pipeline said it initiated the restart process late on May 12 that will take several days to restore full fuel transportation to much of the US South and East Coast.

Colonial had halted all pipeline operations on May 7 because of a ransomware attack, restricting the primary artery for gasoline and refined products from delivering more than 100 million gal/d of fuels.

Colonial stretches more than 5,500 miles from the Houston refining hub to New York Harbor, supplying about 45% of all the gasoline and diesel fuel consumed on the East Coast.

"Suffice it to say that we all need to harden our defenses against these malevolent actors, whether they are rogue or state sponsored criminals," Granholm said.

Energy transition

Granholm also stressed the need for oil companies to accelerate their transition to cleaner energy and production even as traditional fossil fuels remain important.

"Our position as a global supplier of crude oil and natural gas and other forms of energy that are traditional fossil energy, that is going to remain important, even as we work to reduce carbon emissions," she said.

The US emits more methane than other country except Russia, she said, highlighting the need for producers to limit flaring, venting and leaking in order to help meet the administration's goal of reducing carbon emissions by 52% by 2030 and hitting net zero emissions by 2050. Granholm said artificial intelligence, remote sensing and machine learning are technologies that will play a growing role in emission reduction.