Pemex contractor accused of fuel theft

The owner of Mexican fuel transportation firm Petrobajío was arrested and accused of being the ringleader of a criminal organization that allegedly stole 4Ml a month of fuel from state-owned Pemex.

The firm, based in the northern state of Guanajuato, was contracted by Pemex in 2011 to transport fuel in road tankers. At the same time, the company allegedly hired criminals from the state of Tamaulipas to siphon fuel from Pemex, according to an AFP news agency report, which cited the attorney general's office.

The investigation led to the arrest of the firm's owner and four of his employees, as well as the seizure of 100 tanker trucks with a capacity to carry 60,000l and 22 trucks with a capacity of 30,000l. The criminal organization had support from corrupt police officers, according to the AFP report.

Pemex faces a growing threat from fuel loss, having detected 2,745 pipeline thefts this year, compared with 2,612 in all of 2013 and 1,635 in 2012.

The firm announced in early September it would invest US$282mn in bolstering its pipeline management using supervisory control and data acquisition (Scada) systems that detect drops in the flow pressure across its pipeline network.

Pemex will increase the number of Scada systems installed from 11 to 47, automating 35,000km of pipelines. The Scada system is supplied by Schneider Electric and is slated to be in place by the end of the year.