Don’t Mess with Texas: Organized Oilfield Theft Triggers Statewide ResponseBy Tsvetana Paraskova - Oct 08, 2025, 6:00 PM CDT
- RRC Commissioner Craddick: “Oilfield theft has become increasingly organized and sophisticated, costing Texans millions and threatening the integrity of our state’s energy sector”.
- As early as the beginning of 2024, the Permian Basin Petroleum Association (PBPA) flagged the issue with oilfield thieves.
- The state legislature earlier this year passed a bill to crack down on Permian Basin oil theft, mandating the creation of a petroleum product theft task force.
In the Permian Basin, oilfield theft has evolved from stolen wrenches to stolen tankers. What was once a nuisance crime is now a multimillion-dollar operation, prompting Texas to step in with a dedicated task force to combat organized petroleum theft.
Texas producer associations and law enforcement have noticed in recent months a surge in organized crime at the numerous oilfield sites in the most prolific oil-producing basin in America.
The state legislature earlier this year passed a bill to crack down on Permian Basin oil theft, mandating the creation of a petroleum product theft task force.
“Organized criminals and cartels have increasingly targeted oil pipelines and storage tanks, stealing millions of dollars from communities in the Permian Basin,” the office of Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in June, when the Governor signed into law several bills aimed at protecting the critical role energy development plays in fueling the Texas economy.
The Railroad Commission of Texas, the oil regulator, this week announced the 13 Texans who will be the members of the newly created State Taskforce on Petroleum Theft (STOPTHEFT) in Senate Bill 494. The members include energy industry executives as well as state, federal, and local law enforcement, who will help tackle petroleum theft.
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The task force will review product theft laws and regulations in other U.S. jurisdictions as well as international laws, and analyze the impact of theft on state tax collections and long-term economic impacts. STOPTHEFT will also make recommendations on law enforcement training to combat petroleum product theft and prepare a report to submit to the Governor and the Legislature.
“Oilfield theft has become increasingly organized and sophisticated, costing Texans millions and threatening the integrity of our state’s energy sector,” RRC Commissioner Christi Craddick said in a statement.
RRC Commissioner Wayne Christian commented, “Petroleum theft isn’t petty crime — it’s organized, often tied to border security failures, and it threatens Texas’ economic security and America’s reliable energy supply. I stand with the STOPTHEFT task force to send a clear message: Texas will protect its producers, defend taxpayers, and bring criminals to justice.”
In the latest quarterly Dallas Fed Energy Survey, 41% of exploration and production company executives said their operations have been impacted by theft in the oil field in the past year. Of those impacted by theft, 61% reported crude oil theft, 58% said piping valves and wiring were stolen, and 39% had equipment stolen over the past year. Most executives rated the impact of theft on their firm’s operations as low.
As early as the beginning of 2024, the Permian Basin Petroleum Association (PBPA) flagged the issue with oilfield thieves.
“Individual crimes of convenience where someone comes across a tool left out in the open or an unlocked, unmonitored vehicle are one thing,” PBPA President Ben Shepperd told the Odessa American in March 2024.
“However, what members of the oil and gas industry have been experiencing more recently in the field has been described as organized crime,” Shepperd added.
“Traditional targets of copper, tools or other heavy equipment that might be relatively easy to move are not the only targets. Full tanker truck loads of produced oil have been removed from private locations throughout the Permian Basin.”
There have been instances of loads of tubing and even an entire pumpjack stolen, the association’s president noted.
The organized theft from oilfields has become an even bigger problem over the past year, to the point that the Texas legislature and regulators have created the STOPTHEFT task force.
Jim Wright, Railroad Commission Chairman, said that “Petroleum theft not only impacts oil and gas producers, it also impacts our state coffers – and it must STOP.”
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com |
