Cyber Attack on Colonial Pipeline Will Have a Slight Impact on West Texas

The latest cyber attack on Colonial Pipeline will not have a big impact on companies here in West Texas, but it did cause them to take notice.

According to NewsWest 9, the latest cyber attack did reveal some holes in the security of the pipeline which caused oil companies here to start looking into possible holes in their own system.

"Every company is on high alert right now because of this. So they are strengthening their systems, they are strengthening the protocols of what they’ll do if they are attacked, but they’re also helping educate their employees on how not to let this type of cyber-attack into the company," said Mickey Cargile, President of Cargile Investment Management.

Cargile said he is not worried about any company here in West Texas but it does cause many to be concerned.

"We are always concerned about the energy grid itself, and we saw what a disruption of that for eight days can do and the havoc it brings, but still we recovered from that and move on. So while it may be a temporary inconvenience, it’s not something that is a disastrous scenario," said Cargile.

If it does happen to one of the West Texas oil companies, Cargile says it would be an inconvenience and drive gas prices up.

"If anything, when there’s a shortage initially that’s going to bump the price up some. It builds in that premium no different than many years ago when anytime there was an attack in the Middle East that it would bump up prices because of that premium that uncertainty brings into the market. Now, whether it lasts or not usually it does not. It’s usually short term," said Cargile.

Good news though, the Colonial Pipeline should be back to normal by the end of this week.

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