Mexico recovers MXN$34 million worth of stolen fuel

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Information from Pemex’s Legal Division dated February 5, 2019 has revealed that, though fuel theft continues, the federal government managed to recover MXN$34 million worth of stolen hydrocarbons during the first 23 days of the year .

Once with the valuation of damages and an assessment on the recovery of stolen fuel, the state oil company discovered that the most-stolen types of fuel were gasoline and diesel.

Out of said amount, MXN$32.7 million correspond to stolen gasoline, and MXN$1.21 million to diesel extracted from Pemex pipelines .

Thanks to the government’s strategy to fight fuel theft, the company was able to recover more than 10,977 gallons of crude oil; 50,616 gallons of diesel; 88 gallons of gas; 69,750 gallons of gasoline; 23,120 gallons of unidentified hydrocarbons, and 14,518 gallons of jet fuel that were illegally tapped from pipelines .

Most of the fuel was recovered in the state of Veracruz (31,015 gallons), followed by Hidalgo (10,085), Puebla (9,861), Oaxaca (6,988), Guanajuato (5,609), and Tabasco (4,399) . An unspecified amount of fuel was also recovered in the State of Mexico, Mexico City, Michoacán, Nuevo León, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, and Tlaxcala.

According to the documents provided by the state-owned company, seven Pemex workers and former workers were accused of fuel theft , adding to the 129 suspects that have been accused since 2006.

During the first 23 days of the year, Pemex recorded 422 anonymous reports of fuel theft , with around the same number of illegal taps, most of which happened in Veracruz (111) , followed by the State of Mexico, with 97 illegal taps; Puebla, with 69; Tamaulipas, 37, and Guanajuato, 33 .

However, only 10 anonymous reports were registered in the state of Hidalgo , where a pipeline explosion caused the death of over 100 civilians last month .

Should the number of illegal taps in January be confirmed, this year would show a remarkable difference compared to the same month in previous years. In January, 2017, illegal taps rose to 828, while in 2018, there were 1,064 illegal taps . However, the fact that some of Pemex’s most important pipelines were temporarily closed last month should be taken into account.