NCJ Number
86088
Date Published
1982
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This article presents the estimated extent of oil-equipment theft, criminal methods for such theft, and measures that could help prevent or facilitate the investigation of such thefts.
Abstract
The Oil and Gas Crime Prevention Association estimates that at a minimum, of every $1 billion in gas and oil sold, $170 million is to cover the cost of theft. Incentives for the rapidly growing illicit industry of the theft and fencing of oil drilling equipment are rooted in the 1973 embargo and the subsequent rise in oil and gas prices, drilling activity, and equipment manufacturing. Equipment manufacturers have not caught up with the demand for drilling equipment and supplies, and the result is a ready-made and lucrative market for thieves and fences. Nothing in the oil patch is immune to theft. While a huge amount of stolen oil field equipment is tossed into the back of a pickup and hastily sold to a local fence for a mere fraction of its value, most oil field thefts are perpetrated by professional criminals who rely on planning, organization, marketing information, and the right equipment. A large number, perhaps as many as 80 percent, are employees or former employees of an oil and gas firm. Suggestions for facilitating the investigation of such thefts include a law requiring an impound period for valuable oil field equipment leaving the country and a better system of keeping records and placing identification marks or serial numbers on all oil field items. Law enforcement has created special units to investigate oil equipment theft, and the industry itself has taken steps to counter the problem.