[TheDude]

Should have seen this coming: [url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121132645628208717.html?mod=googlenews_wsj\%3Cbr%20/%3E]WSJ[/url]
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')s oil prices have soared to new highs, energy companies aren't the only ones scouring the earth for new sources of crude. Thieves are, too.

A sharp rise in oil-field thefts is driving oil companies and law enforcement to beef up security at wells that are being targeted more frequently as a source of easy money. Thieves are tapping into pipelines, paying off truck drivers and sometimes simply driving up to wells in tanker trucks and pumping the oil out of storage containers.

Wayne Wicks, a Houston-based private investigator who specializes in oil-field crimes, has seen his caseload increase fivefold in the past two years. "It's hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude," said Mr. Wicks. And that is translating into millions of dollars in losses hitting both big producers and tiny independents.

Some companies are taking extra measures to fight back. In the past year, Devon Energy Corp., for one, has installed cameras at many well sites to broadcast images back to the company's Oklahoma City headquarters. It has held training sessions for local sheriffs' departments to help them identify oil-field equipment, and it has hired extra security to patrol its wells. The reason: a rash of thefts that included the loss of 600 barrels of oil in a single night, according to the company.

[roccman]

The people will act as their leaders do.

The great oil grab has a very long and dark history.

[Denny]

Oh ohhhh! I thought of this happening in Nigeria, but not the U.S.A.

Beyond the legal risks, there are also so many safety risks.

[joeltrout]

This has been happening since the beginning of oil. However I am sure it is going to escalate.

When I was in highschool (1998-2001) I would work for an oil company by "guarding" equipment when they were in between moving the drilling rig and completing the well. All I did was sleep in my truck all night but it was enough to deter anyone from trying to steal. Pipes make great fences and corrals and thousands of feet of good pipe has been stolen from well locations.

Prices weren't spurring companies to complete work as quick as possible. Therefore equipment would sit for days before being moved to another location.

Also stealing of natural gas was a problem. Many of the oilfield trucks where I grew up in the Permian Basin were converted to run off of a natural gas mixture. That way trucks could literally hook up to the well using some device and fill their tank many times not a well owned by the company they worked for. It was small amounts but stealing none-the-less.

joeltrout

[canis_lupus]

somebody please tell me what the h3ll someone is going to do with 600 barrels of crude. are they going to roll up to a rogue refinery?

[joeltrout]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('canis_lupus', 's')omebody please tell me what the h3ll someone is going to do with 600 barrels of crude. are they going to roll up to a rogue refinery?

[Twilight]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('canis_lupus', 's')omebody please tell me what the h3ll someone is going to do with 600 barrels of crude. are they going to roll up to a rogue refinery?

[jbrovont]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('canis_lupus', 's')omebody please tell me what the h3ll someone is going to do with 600 barrels of crude. are they going to roll up to a rogue refinery?

[canis_lupus]

I was going to let fly with a 'you've GOT to be kidding me!' when I remembered a note from Canis_Lupus_the_Younger who said he heard a news report that it is now profitable and feasible to restart old wells here in...Illinois.

I suppose if the big companies don't have a lock on them the oil has to go somehow to somewhere...hm.

Ok, I'm solid in the biodiesel production, got it handled. Anyone in the Western Suburbs want to help with a well in my backyard? I'll smooth it over with Mrs._Lupus, no sweat.

Maybe.

[lawnchair]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Twilight', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('canis_lupus', 's')omebody please tell me what the h3ll someone is going to do with 600 barrels of crude. are they going to roll up to a rogue refinery?

[joeltrout]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lawnchair', '
')
Yep. I had *high school* classmates with stripper wells.

[Twilight]

Exactly, it is probably not much of an exaggeration to say that all a criminal gang would have to do is produce paperwork stating they own some stripper wells outside Some Town, Some State, sign up to deliver to a refinery and keep a tanker or two idled for "float" to make sure the deliveries flow plausibly steady in between jobs. I cannot think of another country where anyone could get away with that. It truly is a product of the unique evolution of the US oil industry.

[Dreamtwister]

Why stop there?

If it's really organized crime (and it almost certainly is), they could find a strawman to buy a stripper well. Then they could use their "legitimate" trucking companies to haul the unrefined product, which would of course be "stolen". The insurance covers the stolen truckload, while a different truck hauls it to the refinery.

All you need is a doctor or something to put a legit name on the paperwork, and a corrupt insurance agent. Why get $130/bbl when you can get $260?

[Twilight]

Good thinking.