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On March 9 and 10, APGA staff participated in the spring meeting of the Oil and Natural Gas Subsector Coordinating Council (ONG SCC). On the first day, just a few representatives from oil and natural gas companies, as well as staff from the major trade associations in this sector met. The next day, the ONG SCC participated in a briefing with security personnel within President Biden’s Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The ONG SCC represents the industry interests of oil and natural gas companies in a government-industry partnership. It provides a forum to coordinate activities across the sector to support America’s homeland security mission.

With ongoing events in Ukraine, there is heightened awareness of possible, retaliatory cyberattacks on the energy sector. This topic was a big part of the discussion. Pipeline operators are reviewing materials shared by the federal government partners to ensure actions are taken to mitigate any threats from Russia. As well, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which is a division of DHS shared possible next steps for a rulemaking on cybersecurity, as the security directives issued last year are temporary and will need to be replaced with a regulation, if appropriate.

With any new developments, APGA staff will be engaging the Security Task Group.

For questions on this article, please contact Stuart Saulters of APGA staff by phone at 202-544-1334 or by email at ssaulters@apga.org.