The remoteness and what some describe as desolate region that makes up the Permian Basin in New Mexico and Texas are also what makes it attractive to thieves. Those who steal millions of dollars in oil every year.
We recently reported on how 14 individuals were arrested in recent weeks for running an oil-theft ring in eastern New Mexico and west Texas. A recent article in Bloomberg Businessweek also noted how Martin County New Mexico loses about 500 barrels worth of oil a week. Martin County is home to Ruidoso where the sheriff’s office gets a call a week on average of someone reporting an oil theft.
It translates into nearly 500 barrels of oil a week stolen in Martin County which results in nearly $50,000 worth of oil, based on an approximate price of $110 a barrel.
A recent Jalopnik report explained some thieves are so brazen they use vacuum trucks and park them in the same line as regular supply trucks and do it in the busiest times of the day—-they steal the oil in broad daylight in front of everybody. In other cases, the thieves pose as general maintenance workers and contractors. Some thieves pose as waste haulers who remove the toxic water from storage tanks, take the oil and leave. All under the eyes of witnesses who believe they’re watching an official operation.