The equivalent of 1,145 truckloads of oil is stolen in Mexico per day from PEMEX – the state-owned petroleum company. That’s 146 billion Mexican Pesos (USD$7.4 billion) in lost revenue since 2016 – a significant hit for a country where 3.8% of GDP comes from oil exports . President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has introduced reforms to tackle the problem, including defining oil theft as a serious felony and releasing a new national strategy for oil production. The new strategy includes shutting off several major pipelines and working at reduced capacity until appropriate measures can be taken to protect them. While flow through the pipelines is halted, oil remains inside at a constant pressure. Theft causes pressure differences that actually help pipeline operators to detect where thieves are taking oil, but the stationary fuel has tempted more and more people to take risks. The deadly consequences of recent pipeline […]