Energy In-depth: Energy Department Hacked Again By Cyberattackers

Editor’s note: Each Friday, Talk Business & Politics provides “Energy In-depth,” a round-up of energy and regulatory news in our email newsletter, which you can sign up to receive daily for free here.

PUMP PRICES ACROSS STATE DIVE WELL BELOW $2 MARK: Gas prices have dipped well below the $2 mark in most areas of state, and a number of locations in several isolated urban areas in Central Arkansas, Texarkana, Fort Smith and Jonesboro have dipped below $1.90 per gallon. Is this a long-term trend? Will these low prices evaporate quickly? Or might gas price dip even lower? Read more analysis at this link.

ENERGY DEPARTMENT HACKED AGAIN BY CYBERATTACKERS: The U.S. Department of Energy notified employees via email Wednesday that hackers gained personal information – such as names and social security numbers – of 14,000 current and former agency employees as the result of a attack that occurred in late July, according to The Wall Street Journal blog.

This is the second attack this year that involved a breach of employee data. While the agency said in its memo that no classified data was compromised or targeted, obtaining personally identifiable information is one way that computer hackers use to gain access to computer systems containing critical assets.

A spokesperson for the DOE confirmed that it had sent the memo on Wednesday. Cyber attackers were able to access the information by hacking into a human resources system which included information such a payroll data, according to a person familiar with the matter.

USDA AWARDS BIOFUEL GRANTS TO 21 STATES: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Thursday (Sept. 10) that 21 states will receive grants through the Biofuel Infrastructure Partnership (BIP) to add infrastructure needed to supply more renewable fuel to America’s drivers. Since announcing the program in May 2015, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) received applications requesting over $130 million, outpacing the $100 million that is available. With a more than 1:1 match from private and state resources, USDA estimates that the BIP grants will support nearly 5,000 pumps at over 1,400 fueling stations across the country.

WALMART EXEC TO SPEAK TO STATEWIDE ENERGY EFFICIENCY GROUP: Walmart Vice President for Energy Mark Vanderhelm will be the keynote speaker at “emPOWERing Arkansas”, the Arkansas Advanced Energy Association’s (AAEA) annual meeting and policy conference scheduled for Oct. 20 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Downtown Little Rock. At the event, a morning policy roundtable will discuss the state’s emerging solar market and advanced energy’s role in helping Arkansas comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan. More info here.

BHP REVEALS 2016 CAPITAL BUDGET, CONFIRMS PLANS TO ‘DEFER’ FAYETTEVILLE SHALE EXPANSION: After a dismal fiscal 2015, Australian mining giant BHP Billiton has unveiled plans to essentially mothball the company’s drilling operations in the Fayetteville and Haynesville dry-gas shale plays until commodity prices rebound in the future.

In its recently released results for the fiscal year 2015, which ended June 30, BHP reported earnings from continuing operations of $1.30 per American Depositary shares (ADS), down $74.5% from $5.11 per ADS a year ago. Revenues for full-year fiscal 2015 totaled $44.6 billion, down 21.4% from $56.8 billion in the year-ago period. Read more at this link.