Permian Oil Executives Cite Organized Theft as Most Common Form

The Permian Basin has seen rising oil-field theft, including targeted and organized heists involving crude oil, equipment and infrastructure, as nearly half of companies focused primarily on the region reported being affected.

By comparison, 86% of companies operating mostly outside the Permian Basin said they had not experienced oil-field theft. The basin spans West Texas and southeastern New Mexico and contains extensive drilling, transportation and production infrastructure.

Among executives who reported theft, 32% said incidents had increased slightly over the past 12 months. Another 47% said theft levels were unchanged, while 22% said they had declined slightly or significantly.

Targeted and organized theft was the most common form identified by oil executives, at 47%. Another 42% described the incidents as opportunistic and petty. Despite the reported increase, 84% said the financial impact was low.

In a survey conducted a year earlier, 61% of respondents identified crude oil as a stolen item, while 58% cited piping, valves and wiring, 39% equipment, 27% tools, and 12% construction equipment and vehicles.

An August investigation led to felony charges against executives of a wastewater disposal company. More than $12 million in petroleum products, vehicles, cash and other assets were seized.

Charges were announced in April in a large-scale conspiracy involving the transport and resale of stolen crude across the New Mexico-Texas border.

Howard County Sheriff Stan Parker said in May that the county, near the Midland-Odessa oil hub, sees “probably over 1,000, 1,500 barrels of oil reported stolen every month.”

“Our problem is we don’t know who’s supposed to be there and who’s not,” Parker said. “If I pulled up on a tank battery right now, I don’t know if you can be there or you’re not.”