Oil theft is on the rise in the heart of U.S. shale country—and it’s mostly carried out in targeted, organized heists

The spike in oil prices since the Iran war began this year has attracted more thieves, and they are increasingly professional criminals.

West Texas Intermediate crude is up 60% so far this year, and fuel prices have risen even more as global refining capacity has fallen due to the Mideast and Russia-Ukraine wars.

While oil theft has long been a part of the industry, the problem has become prevalent enough for the Dallas Fed to ask about in its quarterly surveys.

The latest one showed that nearly half of firms that are primarily focused in the Permian Basin said their operations have been impacted by theft in oil fields.

By contrast, 86% of firms operating mostly outside the Permian said they were not impacted.

The Permian is the heart of the oil patch and the epicenter of the shale revolution that has transformed the U.S. into an energy superpower.

It stretches across the vast expanses of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico—and is dotted with drilling rigs, pipelines, trucks and other infrastructure necessities.

That’s made the Permian a target-rich environment.

And now that U.S. oil prices have been hovering around $100 a barrel lately, criminals can’t resist the payoff.

According to the Dallas Fed survey, 32% of executives who were impacted by oil theft said it had increased slightly over the last 12 months, while 47% said it remained the same, and 22% said it decreased slightly or significantly.

Nearly half of the oil executives (47%) said the most common form of theft was targeted and organized, while 42% described it as opportunistic petty theft.

Still, the losses were relatively minimal, with 84% saying the financial impact of the theft was low.

A year ago, the Dallas Fed asked a slightly different set of questions about theft, including what exactly was stolen: 61% said crude oil; 58% said piping, valves and wiring; 39% said equipment; 27% said tools; and 12% said construction equipment and vehicles.

Theft can also be committed by other firms.