Happy Monday! Welcome back to another week of ESC News Blog!
We read an update to a Blog we wrote
on back in September 2025 on Texas’ STOPTHEFT Task force taking applications
and our possible problem of oil rustling in Texas. (See our Blog last year for details.)
Did anyone
happen to read Chron First Draft Newsletter on May 4, 2026, they reprinted
an article from JALOPNIK titled, “Welcome To The Wild West, Where Texas Loses Nearly
A Billion Dollars of Oil A Year To Thieves”?
The article speaks in regard to the Texas’ Permian Basin has modern day
rustlers rustling oil. The article goes
on to say an oil producing county in Martin County Sheriff’s Office gets calls weekly
on missing oil, and with today’s prices means millions, if not billion dollars
yearly. The Permian Basin has many oil
fields with minimal security, and the rustlers know it and cattle aren’t telling
who the culprit is. The rustlers have a
new scheme where they rent specialized supply trucks and get in line during
peak hours pretend to be there for something like wastewater and leave with oil,
and drive over the border which is less than 200 miles away. The FBI started to look into the problem in
the late 2000s and even made a task force which in turn made Texas take notice.
Railroad Commission of Texas last year
formed the STOPTHEFT Task Force to look into the missing oil dilemma and their findings
are expected by the end of the year. We
will keep you informed, if we hear anything else on the STOPTHEFT task force or
on the missing oil dilemma. If you would like to read more of Houston
Chronicle’s reprinted article on MSN, please click the link: Welcome to the wild west, where Texas loses nearly a billion dollars of oil a year to thieves.
If you would
like help in looking into how to transport your product efficiently and with
less of a carbon footprint, contact us via the email in the Blog and check out
our ESC website!
We hope you have a wonderful evening!
**Disclaimer: You may be charged a fee to read The
Houston Chronicle’s articles. **