Cybersecurity

Regulation of natural gas pipeline security, currently a responsibility of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), should be shifted to the Department of Energy (DOE), according to FERC Commissioners Neil Chatterjee and Richard Glick.

A House subcommittee on Wednesday gave its stamp of approval to five energy bills, including one designed to expedite U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

With the energy sector, including the oil and gas industry, making preparations for cyber attacks, the Department of Energy (DOE) has established a cybersecurity office to help protect and prepare the industry.

A group of Democratic senators is urging President Trump to direct the Department of Energy (DOE) to examine the threats Russian hackers pose to energy infrastructure in the United States, while accusing the administration of failing to respond to a similar request made three months earlier.

A panel of experts said the nation’s electric utilities have resources at their disposal to fight cyber threats, but concerns remain over how much training their personnel receives and whether the Trump administration could issue an executive order to help bolster cybersecurity.

With natural gas playing an increasing role in power generation, the Department of Energy (DOE) is recommending that it coordinate with other government agencies to determine whether additional cybersecurity protections for the nation’s natural gas pipeline network are warranted.

To protect oil and natural gas installations against cybersecurity threats, DNV GL is partnering with Royal Dutch Shell plc, Statoil ASA and others to develop an industry best practice.

A survey conducted last November of more than 150 information technology (IT) professionals in the oil and gas industry found that 82% had seen an increase in successful cyberattacks in the preceding 12 months.

The natural gas industry is taking cybersecurity threats very seriously and has devoted increasing resources to fighting them since 2001. This comes as the federal government shares classified information of credible threats to the industry and weighs legislation to do more, according to officials with the American Gas Association (AGA).