Fuel thefts force Mexico to increase gasoline imports

Authorities in Mexico say the country has been forced to increase its gasoline imports by an “unprecedented” level as a result of shortages caused by a rise in fuel thefts.

On Monday, the state-run Mexican oil giant Pemex said the move was necessary to make up for shortages in a number of states across the country including Aguascalientes, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Jalisco, Nuevo Leon and Zacatecas.

“We have increased our imports of products to almost 75,000 barrels (per day), an unprecedented figure,” said Pemex’s stock and distribution deputy director, Francisco Fuentes Saldana.

Fuentes further said that “an exponential increase of illegal taps in recent years” had led to the current situation. Drug cartels in the country have been stealing billions of dollars worth of fuel from gasoline pipelines.

According to an unnamed Pemex spokesman, Mexico normally receives 400,000 barrels of gasoline from different countries around the world.

Mexican authorities say illegal taps in 2012 increased from 1,620 to 4,218 in 2014. The number has reached 2,813 so far this year.

Pemex said the amount of imports will most likely be halved later in the week as production is scheduled to increase at refineries.

In February, Pemex announced that it would halt its shipment of ready-to-use gasoline and diesel through pipelines across the country after over $1 billion worth of fuel was stolen last year.

SZH/MKA

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