Petroleos Mexicanos will stop using its Mexican pipeline network to transport refined fuel in an effort to reduce theft that surged 66 percent last year.
Pemex, as the state-owned producer is known, will send only partially-processed gasoline and diesel through pipelines to storage terminals where it will undertake final processing, the Mexico City-based company said in an e-mailed statement.
By limiting pipeline transport to unfinished fuels that would damage engines, Pemex is trying to contain theft that’s siphoning off earnings at a time the state monopoly is cutting costs in preparation for the industry’s liberalization.
Pemex reported 3,600 illegal fuel taps on pipelines last year, a 66 percent increase from the 2,167 a year earlier, costing the company an estimated $792 million. Pilfering more than quadrupled from 2009 to 2013, according to Pemex, which partially attributes its decade-long slide in production to the increase in illegal taps.
<b>Iraq</b>
As militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant have secured territory in Syria and Iraq, the amount of oil being smuggled out of the region has skyrocketed. ISIS pumps hundreds of thousands of barrels a day, and could be making as much as $3 million. less
<b>Iraq</b>
As militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant have secured territory in Syria and Iraq, the amount of oil being smuggled out of the region has skyrocketed. ISIS pumps hundreds of ... more
Photo: NABIL AL-JURANI / AP
<b>Mexico</b>
Oil smuggling has jumped 1,548 percent from 2000 to 2013 in Mexico, <a href="http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/These-Are-The-5-Countries-Most-Plagued-by-Oil-Theft.html">according to OilPrice.com</a>, in large part because of drug cartels like the Zetas. less
<b>Mexico</b>
Oil smuggling has jumped 1,548 percent from 2000 to 2013 in Mexico, <a href="http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/These-Are-The-5-Countries-Most-Plagued-by-Oil-Theft.html">according to ... more
Photo: Eduardo Verdugo / Associated Press
<b>Nigeria</b>
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/oct/06/oil-theft-costs-nigeria">According to the Guardian</a>, as many as 400,000 barrels of oil a day are stolen in Nigeria, equal to $1.7 billion a month. less
<b>Nigeria</b>
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/oct/06/oil-theft-costs-nigeria">According to the Guardian</a>, as many as 400,000 barrels of oil a day are stolen in Nigeria, equal ... more
Photo: PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP/Getty Images
<b>Russia</b>
Transeft reported that as much as 27,000 tons of oil were smuggled from its pipelines in Dagestan in 2009.
<b>Russia</b>
Transeft reported that as much as 27,000 tons of oil were smuggled from its pipelines in Dagestan in 2009.
Photo: Andrey Rudakov / Bloomberg
<b>Philippines</b>
Though the Philippine government has tried to address its growing smuggling problemm, nearly $750 million in oil are still smuggled each year.
<b>Philippines</b>
Though the Philippine government has tried to address its growing smuggling problemm, nearly $750 million in oil are still smuggled each year.
Photo: NANA BUXANI / BLOOMBERG NEWS
<b>Colombia</b>
Drug traffickers in the country have been stealing crude from pipelines in order to make cocaine -- since starting its crackdown, Colombian police have seized about 226,000 gallons of smuggled crude, <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-05/colombia-combats-martians-robbing-crude-oil-for-cocaine-labs.html">according to Bloomberg</a>. less
<b>Colombia</b>
Drug traffickers in the country have been stealing crude from pipelines in order to make cocaine -- since starting its crackdown, Colombian police have seized about 226,000 gallons of smuggled ... more
Photo: MARCELO SALINAS / Special to the Chronicle
<b>Venezuela</b>
Smuggling exports have been pouring out of oil-rich Venezuela and into its neighbors, Colombia and Brazil. In 2013, Venezuelan authorities seized 1 million litres of oil on its way across the border. less
<b>Venezuela</b>
Smuggling exports have been pouring out of oil-rich Venezuela and into its neighbors, Colombia and Brazil. In 2013, Venezuelan authorities seized 1 million litres of oil on its way across the ... more
Photo: FERNANDO LLANO / Associated Press
<b>Indonesia</b>
Oil smuggling is not as widespread in Indonesia as some other countries, according to OilPrice, but illegal activities resulted in a recent pipeline explosion that killed eight people. About 2,000-3,000 barrels per day are smuggled out of the country. less
<b>Indonesia</b>
Oil smuggling is not as widespread in Indonesia as some other countries, according to OilPrice, but illegal activities resulted in a recent pipeline explosion that killed eight people. About ... more
Photo: Ed Wray / AP
<b>Turkey</b>
Iraq's northern neighbor has also suffered at the hands of ISIS -- the country seized almost 5.29 million gallons of oil on its border in 2014, four times as much as the year before. less
<b>Turkey</b>
Iraq's northern neighbor has also suffered at the hands of ISIS -- the country seized almost 5.29 million gallons of oil on its border in 2014, four times as much as the year ... more
Photo: Burhan Ozbilici / Associated Press
<b>United States</b>
Oil pipelines are much better protected in the United States than in other countries around the world, but the oil boom in Texas and other states has led to a rise in a different kind of crime: oil field equipment theft. <a href:"https://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/2013/02/18/fraud-in-the-oil-fields-a-boom-in-theft-costs-texas-industry-millions/">According to NPR</a>, at least $20 million in equipment is stolen every year in West Texas alone. less
<b>United States</b>
Oil pipelines are much better protected in the United States than in other countries around the world, but the oil boom in Texas and other states has led to a rise in a different kind of ... more
Photo: ROBYN BECK / AFP/Getty Images
<b>Canada</b>
Canada's oil boom has also resulted in an increase in theft of oil field equipment, with millions of dollars of generators, vehicles, copper wire and crude being stolen each year, <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/alberta-oil-field-boom-is-a-boon-for-thieves/article10839345/">according to The Globe and Mail.</a> less
<b>Canada</b>
Canada's oil boom has also resulted in an increase in theft of oil field equipment, with millions of dollars of generators, vehicles, copper wire and crude being stolen each year, <a ... more
Photo: Brennan Linsley / Associated Press
