Oil theft is on the rise in the heart of U.S. shale country—and it’s mostly carried out in targeted, organized heists 

The spike in oil prices since the Iran war began this year has attracted more thieves, and they are increasingly professional criminals.

West Texas Intermediate crude is up 60% so far this year, and fuel prices have risen even more as global refining capacity has fallen due to the Mideast and Russia-Ukraine wars.

While oil theft has long been a part of the industry, the problem has become prevalent enough for the Dallas Fed to ask about in its quarterly surveys.

The latest one showed that nearly half of firms that are primarily focused in the Permian Basin said their operations have been impacted by theft in oil fields. By contrast, 86% of firms operating mostly outside the Permian said they were not impacted.

The Permian is the heart of the oil patch and the epicenter of the shale revolution that has transformed the U.S. into an energy superpower.

It stretches........

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