Submitted by Dex Dunford via OilPrice.com

Already reeling from low prices, officials with Mexico’s state-run Pemex are also fighting an ever intensifying battle against pipeline theft as organized crime tries to gain a foothold in the country’s newly reformed energy sector.From loosely organized groups of locals to feared drug cartels, those who believe there is a significant amount of illicit profit to be made here are coming out of the woodwork—and for starters they are eyeing pipelines.The statistics tell an alarming story of a rapidly increasing number of pipeline thefts year over year.According to a report from Pemex released in November of 2015, incidents of illegal pipeline tapping rose a staggering 43.7 percent in 2014 over the previous year. This amounts to over 4,100 recorded pipeline taps and over 7 million liters of stolen gasoline. Pemex estimates the cost of the thefts to be $1.29 billion.

Source: Oil Thefts Surge In Mexico As Cartels Become Specialized | Zero Hedge