CESER Supports the Oil and Natural Gas Subsector with Critical Energy Security Exercises

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of the Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) is conducting critical security exercises for oil and natural gas (ONG) operators to test the sector’s emergency mechanisms, evaluate coordination pathways, and address any gaps in their security plans. 

The cyber and physical threat landscape continues to evolve. Nation-state adversaries continue to pre-position inside U.S. critical infrastructure networks to hold our energy infrastructure at risk for a time and place of their choosing. Opportunistic threat actors are increasingly targeting operational technology (OT) and industrial control systems (ICS) within the ONG subsector. Strengthening this sector's resilience is vital to national security.

The ONG subsector and the electric subsector share a critical mutual dependence: pipelines require electricity to pump fuel, while power plants rely on natural gas to generate power. Because a failure in one system can trigger cascading outages in the other, CESER provides tailored exercises and training designed to help the ONG subsector prepare for and respond to emergencies, ensuring the continuous support of our nation's electricity generation.

CESER’s mission is to strengthen the security and resilience of the U.S. energy sector. These established exercises across the entire energy sector are a core capability used to provide hands-on adversarial testing, learning modules, and courses for sector participants to apply during real-life incidents. These exercises also identify gaps in current plans and improve cross-sector coordination. 

CESER leads a variety of exercises and training programs designed to prepare the energy sector for disruptive events. 

Clear Path is a multi-agency exercise series designed to stress collaborative response to catastrophic incidents. Clear Path brings together critical infrastructure operators, state and local agencies, and federal partners to review the threat landscape and response coordination pertaining to cyber, physical, and natural-hazard scenarios. 

Clear Path XIV is scheduled for the fall of 2026 in Los Angeles (LA) and will focus on energy reliability. Specifically, this exercise will examine how cyber and physical threats could impact regional power ahead of the LA 2028 Summer Olympic Games. This year’s exercise will assemble local entities, like Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), Southern California Edison, and SoCal Gas to explore how disruptions to pipelines and other distribution and transmission facilities might unfold. The focus will be on coordination among cross-sector teams to ensure the continuity of critical infrastructure services and enable more efficient recovery. 

Liberty Eclipse conducts live cyber and physical activities to give operators the opportunity to defend infrastructure equipment under simulated attack conditions. This annual exercise helps private sector partners validate response plans in coordination with government partners. Last year’s Liberty Eclipse exercise was the first inclusion of the ONG subsector, where partners explored interdependencies between petroleum and electric systems. 

CyberStrike, CESER’s training and information sharing effort, complements the exercise portfolio to enhance sector readiness year-round. CyberStrike training is a scenario-based program delivered by the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) with CESER’s direction and guidance. CyberStrike provides hands-on instruction to help the energy sector defend OT systems against cyber threats. Last fall CESER and INL hosted a CyberStrike workshop at the American Petroleum Institute (API) Annual Cybersecurity Conference. The workshop delivered a tailored oil and natural gas subsector scenario to help owners and operators prepare for cyber incidents based on prior real-world attacks, using tabletop models of ICS equipment.

CESER also works with state, local, tribal, and territorial stakeholders to ensure this work remains relevant and broadly accessible. Later this year, the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) will host a multi-sector energy disruption exercise with Northeast Regional Operational Coordination Collaborative (NEROCC), focused on liquid fuels, electricity, and natural gas. In a similar partnership with NASEO, the Midwest Petroleum Disruption Response Exercise will explore regional coordination in response to significant fuel disruptions.

CESER continues to advance its preparedness initiatives to more wholistically reflect the entire energy sector and to better address emerging risks. As the threat landscape evolves, so must the energy sector’s ability to prepare and respond to threats. CESER’s exercises and training programs support the strategic planning and operational expertise necessary to confront risks in a constantly changing threat landscape. Every exercise and engagement CESER has with ONG partners strengthens the foundation for a secure and resilient energy future for hardworking American families and businesses.

CESER maintains an office email as a resource for communication and inquiries. Interested parties can reach us at EnergySRMA@hq.doe.gov. For more specific information on CESER Exercise Plans, contact Brian Marko, Senior Advisor for Exercises and Training at brian.marko@hq.doe.gov. For additional information on CESER Industry Engagement, please contact Marc Lemmond, Industry Engagement Program Manager at marc.lemmond@hq.doe.gov.