Colonial Pipeline begins restart as Southeast US scrambles for fuel

Colonial Pipeline said on Wednesday it has begun to restart the nation’s largest pipeline network, six days after a ransomware attack prompted it to shut the line, triggering fuel shortages and panic buying in the southeastern United States.

It will take several days for the fuel delivery supply chain to return to normal, Colonial said even as people in southeastern states scrambled to fill their tanks as stations ran out of gas. Observers reported fistfights erupting over fuel supplies in North Carolina and other places.

Colonial halted 2.5 million barrels per day of shipments of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel last Friday after the most disruptive cyberattack ever on US energy infrastructure.