SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:
As the price of oil rises, so does the problem of oil rustling, meaning the theft of crude oil. It's a crime that has been part of the Texas oil patch since the earliest days of wildcatters. But today, officials say oil field theft has grown into something far more organized and dangerous and costly. Texas Public Radio's David Martin Davies reports.
DAVID MARTIN DAVIES, BYLINE: In March of 2025, an oil pipeline exploded in the night sky over Reeves County in West Texas. Investigators said it was the result of oil thieves trying to tap into a pressurized pipeline.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TIM MURPHY: They cut into the pipeline and tried to tap directly into the main pipeline.
DAVIES: That's Tim Murphy with the Texas Department of Public Safety testifying recently before the Texas House Energy Resources Committee.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MURPHY: It sparked and it blew. They blew up everything in the area, but the pipeline burned for several days.
DAVIES: Murphy said this was an example of oil field theft that went horribly wrong, but it could have been much worse. The massive fire was contained before it reached a more populated area. Officials say the incident shows how oil field theft has become more than a property crime. It is a serious threat to workers, nearby communities and critical energy infrastructure. And in West Texas, virtually anywhere you look is critical energy infrastructure. The Permian Basin provides about half of the nation's oil. The vast, flat, dusty landscape is populated with pumpjacks, oil storage tanks and drilling pads. Each one is a tempting target for a thief.
JIM WRIGHT: It's like any other commodity - when the price is high, they just get sexier.
DAVIES: That's Jim Wright, chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission, the state agency that oversees oil and gas production. Wright says the thieves are often sophisticated.
WRIGHT: They're cloning these trucks. They can take a truck and get a full load of oil and not be noticed.
DAVIES: Wright says criminals paint tanker trucks to look like legitimate oil field service vehicles.
WRIGHT: So as they go through these remote ranches to get access to that oil, they're - they go unnoticed.
DAVIES: The stolen crude is sold through a broker who sells it onto the market. He says the theft is happening across Texas.
WRIGHT: About 40% of the industry has experienced some sort of theft, and so I've heard that number could be as high as a billion dollars on a annual basis.
DAVIES: Wright says the problem is growing, and recent criminal cases show the scale. In April, federal prosecutors announced that 14 people from Texas and New Mexico had been indicted in an alleged crude oil theft conspiracy. The indictment alleges crude oil was siphoned from producers in southeastern New Mexico and then transported across state lines into Texas for resale. Sheriff Stan Parker of Howard County in West Texas says he doesn't have the manpower to deal with the problem.
STAN PARKER: Our county alone gets probably over a thousand, 1,500 barrels of oil reported stolen every month.
DAVIES: Parker says the oil thieves know the oil drilling business and law enforcement does not.
PARKER: Our problem is we don't know who's supposed to be there and who's not. And the thing about it is, if I pulled up on a tank battery right now, I don't know if you can be there or you're not. I don't know if you're drawing water off of it. I don't know if you're pulling oil. It's got very complicated.
DAVIES: Texas lawmakers have responded by creating an organized oil field theft prevention unit within the Department of Public Safety, which is now training local sheriffs what to look for to spot an oil thief. The legislature also created the STOPTHEFT Task Force to study petroleum theft, gaps in the law and long-term economic impacts. The task force will report its findings to state lawmakers in December. Texas has recently increased the criminal penalty for oil field theft. Depending on the value of what was stolen, a conviction can carry two to 10 years or up to life in prison. For NPR News, I'm David Martin Davies in San Antonio. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
