Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Mexico’s State-Run Oil Company: Pipeline Network ‘Practically Taken Over by Organized Crime and Armed Groups’ ..

(CNSNews.com) -- Organized crime in Mexico fueled the theft of more than 1.8 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum from the nation’s state-run oil company Pemex in the first half of 2012, an 18 percent increase when compared to the same period in 2011, according to the company’s communications office.
Mexico is ranked by the CIA as the seventh top oil-producing country in the world. Pemex (Petroleos Mexicanos) reported  in Spanish on Aug. 10 that the national pipeline systems “are practically taken over by organized crime gangs associated with heavily armed groups.”

There were 111 persons “arrested red-handed for the crime of oil theft” between January and June of this year, according to Pemex.
Criminals use intrusive devices referred to as “clandestine taps” (CTs) to steal the oil, reported Pemex, adding that a total of 824 intrusive taps were identified in the first six months of 2012.
The areas most affected by oil theft include the Mexican state of Veracruz, where 114 CTs were located, followed by Sinaloa (90 CTs); Tamaulipas (83 CTs); and the states of Sonora and Nuevo Leon where 62 CTs were found at each one.
Violent drug cartels such as Los Zetas are known to operate in those states. The Los Zetas cartel has reportedly been linked to violent armed clashes associated with oil theft.
Several U.S.-based companies operating near the border have been accused of helping Mexican criminals refine stolen oil. Pemex filed a lawsuit against 12 firms, including units of Royal Dutch Shell, according to Reuters.

Mexico’s State-Run Oil Company: Pipeline Network ‘Practically Taken Over by Organized Crime and Armed Groups’ | CNSNews.com: click  for  more..

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