US and Mexico probe Pemex oil thefts

The US and Mexican governments are probing a scheme to steal millions of dollars worth of crude oil and refined products from Mexico’s state-owned producer Pemex and sell it to US refiners, according to reports.

“There is a cooperative effort by the US and Mexican governments to investigate the theft of petroleum products from Mexico,” Nancy Herrera, spokeswoman for the US Attorney’s office in Houston, told Reuters.

The Immigration & Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) will hold a news conference in San Antonio later today to announce that the US will return $2.4 million in funds generated from oil smuggling to the Mexican government, the agency said.

The announcement comes on the heels of US President Barack Obama’s meetings over the weekend with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Guadalajara, Mexico.

At least one US energy industry executive has pleaded guilty in a scheme to steal about $2 million worth of petroleum products from Pemex and sell it to US refiners.

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