Commodity market exposure to energy-firm distress: Evidence from the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack

Abstract

The engendering of systemic risk through contagion from stressed firms continues to be of great scholarly interest. While the contribution to systemic risk of enforcement actions against firms in the financial industry, for instance, has received much recent attention, the systemic risk to economies of attacks to firms in energy industries has been much less examined. We assess the impact of the recent Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack on energy commodity prices, evidencing considerable price reactions and destabilising volatility. Results highlight a need for policymakers to conceptualise ‘systemically important energy companies’.