Violence Raises Oil Risk In Mexico
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East|August 16, 2017

Fuel thieves could prompt foreign companies to rethink investing in the industry

Amy Stillman
Violence Raises Oil Risk In Mexico

Buying stolen gasoline in the central Mexican state of Puebla is easy. Pull off the main highway into a busy parking lot in San Salvador Huixcolotla, and the blamarketeers are waiting in pickup trucks loaded with jerrycans. They’ll siphon the fuel into your tank— while boasting that, unlike a lot of the country’s regular gas stations, they don’t cheat customers.

While this illegal curbside commerce has been going on for decades, it’s exploded in the past few years and now costs Pemex, Mexico’s state oil company, more than 20 billion pesos ($1.1 billion) a year. The huachicoleros, as the fuel thieves are known, dig up pipelines and hijack tanker trucks. These techniques have made Puebla, with its heavy vehicular traffic and extensive pipeline system, a target for organised crime groups looking to diversify their profit streams. The country’s drug cartels have muscled their way in, with predictable mayhem. Nine people died in a 2 July shootout between rival gangs of huachicoleros in Puebla. And at least 15 people have died in military operations to break up fuel theft rings over the past several months in an area of the state known as the Red Triangle.

The government has started cracking down because it needs to draw foreign capital into the energy sector, where oil output has been sagging because of a combination of underinvestment in exploration and production, aging wells, and deficient infrastructure. The country has a population about five times that of Texas, yet the US state’s fuel pipeline grid is 35 times larger.

Denne historien er fra August 16, 2017-utgaven av Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra August 16, 2017-utgaven av Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK MIDDLE EASTSe alt
Golfing With The Enemy
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

Golfing With The Enemy

Did Donald Trump's executives violate the Cuban embargo?

time-read
10+ mins  |
August 16, 2016
Super-Rich Syrians Wait for War's End
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

Super-Rich Syrians Wait for War's End

Actor, author, playwright. Gill Pringle tries her hand at unravelling the mystery behind this enigmatic multi-hyphenate

time-read
10+ mins  |
July 01, 2016
Pam Codispoti
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

Pam Codispoti

The mastermind behind the industry-shaping Chase Sapphire Reserve Card sets her sights on banking

time-read
2 mins  |
January 16, 2018
This Time It's The Economy
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

This Time It's The Economy

President Rouhani’s budget sets offprotests from people angry about unemployment and inflation

time-read
5 mins  |
January 16, 2018
Saudi Prince Counts On Support Of Citizens
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

Saudi Prince Counts On Support Of Citizens

State-worker salary increases appeal to the people, but policy may throw the budget off track

time-read
3 mins  |
January 16, 2018
Stalin's Legacy Is Choking The Ukrainian Economy
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

Stalin's Legacy Is Choking The Ukrainian Economy

The government has resisted pressure to lift a ban on land sales, despite pressure from the IMF and investors

time-read
4 mins  |
January 16, 2018
Catastrophe Bonds Survive A Stormy Year
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

Catastrophe Bonds Survive A Stormy Year

The turbulence of 2017 couldn’t destroy a market for betting against disasters

time-read
3 mins  |
January 16, 2018
Riding The West Bank's Credit Boom
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

Riding The West Bank's Credit Boom

Increased consumer lending is creating a bubble in the West Bank

time-read
3 mins  |
January 16, 2018
You'd Be Crazy To Buy Pizza With Bitcoin
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

You'd Be Crazy To Buy Pizza With Bitcoin

Speculative fervour makes the cryptocurrency clumsy for commerce

time-read
3 mins  |
January 16, 2018
What If The President Loses His Party?
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

What If The President Loses His Party?

Trump has to figure out a way to work with Republicans in Congress, or the global economy may be at stake

time-read
6 mins  |
August 16, 2017