(Bloomberg) — Oil trader Mabanaft said it was the victim of a cyberattack that has disrupted the delivery of fuels across Germany.
The company, which distributes diesel, gasoline and heating oil, declared force majeure on supplies in the country following the Jan. 29 breach that targeted its fuel storage and distribution business. The legal clause covers a company when it can’t honor contractual commitments due to events beyond its control.
“All parties continue to work to restore operations to normal in all our terminals as soon as possible,” Mabanaft said. It declined to say whether a ransom is being sought or when it expects the situation to be resolved.
While the extent of the cyberattack hasn’t been disclosed, it highlights the growing risks posed to critical infrastructure. Last year, Colonial Pipeline Co. paid a ransom after a hack forced it to shut the largest fuel pipeline in the U.S., resulting in shortages at filling stations and price spikes.
Storage is a critical business for Mabanaft, which operates terminals across Germany. The company’s Oiltanking Deutschland operations have also declared force majeure, a move that’s likely to be felt most in areas where there is the least alternative fuel supply. That includes the Hamburg area, which is served by the Holborn refinery, and southwest Germany, which relies of the Miro facility.
Oiltanking Deutschland has terminals on the Rhine River, which is critical for the supply of fuel into south Germany and Switzerland. Delays are likely if barges loaded with heating oil or diesel from the Rotterdam area can’t discharge at inland terminals.
The unit had a throughput of 18.2 million tons of oils and biofuels through its terminals in 2020, according to its website. That works out at approximately 370,000 barrels a day entering and leaving the depots. German oil consumption was about 2 million barrels a day in 2020, according to BP Plc data.
Shell Plc said it is having to seek alternative supply, with trucks no longer able to load at fuel depots linked to Mabanaft.
(Updates with background throughout.)
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