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Fears over US fuel shortage amid cyber-attack

The US has acted to keep fuel flowing after a major pipeline was hit by a cyber-attack.

The US has acted to keep fuel flowing after a major pipeline was hit by a cyber-attack. Ellen R Wald, president of Transversal Consulting, explains the significance of the Colonial Pipeline, which carries 45% of the east coast's supply of diesel, petrol and jet fuel from the Gulf of Mexico and the shutdown's impact. Algirde Pipikaite is a cyber security expert at the World Economic Forum who discusses how the pipeline was shut down by cyber criminals. Also in the programme, we take a close look at Nigeria's electricity challenge, which means around 40% of the country having no access to official supplies. Victor Agbro runs a printing company in Lagos, and tells us he has to run diesel generators to ensure a steady flow of power to his printing presses. We hear from Yadviga Semikolenova, who is the World Bank's lead energy economist for Nigeria, about a recent $500m loan to the country to shore up the power sector. And we get the government's perspective from Ahmad Zakari, who is special adviser to President Buhari on infrastructure. Plus, researchers have created a cricket bat made out of bamboo, rather than the traditional willow, which they say is cheaper and more sustainable. We hear more about the idea from Ben Tinkler-Davies of the University of Cambridge, who was on the research team.

(Picture: Holding tanks for the Colonial Pipeline in Maryland. Picture credit: EPA.)

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27 minutes

Last on

Mon 10 May 2021 22:32GMT

Broadcast

  • Mon 10 May 2021 22:32GMT