By Eduardo Buendía
In the last three years Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) has recovered more than 23 million liters of hydrocarbons stolen from illegal taps. Chihuahua, Baja California, Tamaulipas, Jalisco and Veracruz are the states where more fuel has been recovered.
According to data obtained by EL UNIVERSAL, 19 million liters were of gasoline and 4.6 million liters of crude oil.
Emilio Lozoya Austin, former director of Pemex, said at the House of Representatives that the company lost 7.5 million barrels of oil from January to August 2014.
To combat fuel theft, Pemex invested 384 million pesos (US$21.06 million) in 2013 in surveillance and patrolling of its facilities and pipelines by the ministries of National Defense and the Navy.
There are no records on the amount of fuel that is stolen every year from the company's pipelines, said congresswoman Martha Sofía Tamayo (PRI), a member of the Surveillance Committee at the Chamber of Deputies.
Norma Nahle García (Morena), a member of the Energy Commission at the Chamber of Deputies, said that illegal taps are made by criminals in association with employees of the oil company.
"Criminals know what pipelines carry fuel and where it goes. Fuel theft in the country is organized,” said Nahle, who added that fuel theft grew in the last 16 years, especially during the administration of Vicente Fox, when gas stations started selling stolen fuel and a black market emerged.
In 2014 the company accused 33 workers of being involved with fuel theft.