HomeNewsBriefPemex: Oil and Gas Theft in Mexico Soars Past 2010 Levels
BRIEF

Pemex: Oil and Gas Theft in Mexico Soars Past 2010 Levels

MEXICO / 24 AUG 2011 BY ELYSSA PACHICO EN

Mexico's state oil company Pemex counted 32 illegal taps on their liquefied gas pipelines so far this year, equivalent to 64,000 barrels.

According to the subdirector of Pemex's pipeline operations, 57 incidents of LP gas theft took place in 2010, reports La Jornada. So far in 2011, the company's director says they have detected a total of 730 taps on all their energy pipelines, including gas LP, natural gas, gasoline and petroleum, amounting to 3.5 billion pesos (about $281 million) in losses. That figure could easily top $490 million in losses by the end of 2011, Pemex said.

This already surpasses the total of 710 taps registered in 2010, according to a figure cited by the Pemex director in June.

Criminal organizations like the Zetas are known to siphon oil and gas from Pemex pipelines, and have also targeted Pemex workers for extortion and kidnapping. Like Colombia's oil sector, where workers are the target of rebel kidnappings and criminal bands siphon millions of dollars worth of crude from pipelines, in Mexico the oil business is increasingly pressured by organized crime. In their quest to diversify their income from drug trafficking, the Zetas have turned to human trafficking, extortion and oil theft, which is an especially low-risk trade that provides big payoffs.

Pemex has tried to take action this year against oil theft, and is moving to sue a U.S. firm accused of buying fuel stolen by gangs like the Zetas. The company is planning to invest in more high-tech security equipment to protect the pipelines.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

COCAINE / 30 AUG 2022

Cocaine in Australia remains difficult to access, with traffickers either selling low-quality or entirely fake doses.

ARGENTINA / 12 SEP 2022

Synthetic drugs like methamphetamine, fentanyl, and ecstasy are reshaping Latin America's drug trade.

FENTANYL / 16 NOV 2022

Mexico’s two most powerful organized crime groups are reportedly sourcing precursor chemicals from the same suppliers to produce fentanyl.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…