San Antonio Standard

Today, Congressman Tony Gonzales (TX-23) introduced the Protect the Permian Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. This legislation aims to increase criminal penalties for stealing, transporting, and selling oil and oil field-related equipment. It also seeks to expand federal resources to law enforcement agencies targeting oil theft.

“The Permian Basin is an energy-producing powerhouse. Across West Texas and the Permian Basin region, large and small oil producers are dealing with widespread oil theft. In addition to taking oil, criminals have hijacked trucks and stolen expensive equipment to extract copper pieces to sell,” said Congressman Tony Gonzales. “It’s time to get laws on the books that hold criminals accountable for coming into West Texas to steal our energy resources—the Protect the Permian Act will do just that.”

“Oilfield theft endangers our lives, threatens our communities, and jeopardizes our national security. Because of Joe Biden’s and Kamala Harris’s open borders policies, oilfield theft is on the rise–especially in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico,” said Matt Coday, President and Founder of the Oil & Gas Workers Association. “We are grateful for Rep. Tony Gonzales and his extensive work leading the fight to combat oilfield theft, protect the people who work in our industry from violent attacks, and enable the FBI Oilfield Theft Task Force and our local Law Enforcement agencies to adequately address this serious and worsening issue.”

"The theft of crude oil, equipment and materials has increased significantly in recent years in a well-coordinated and organized manner that makes it difficult to identify and prosecute these crimes. On behalf of our members, TIPRO has engaged with law enforcement, state and federal policymakers and other stakeholders to identify solutions to mitigate this growing problem in the oilpatch. We applaud Congressman Gonzales for his leadership on this issue and for taking decisive action to provide additional resources, a higher degree of coordination with local and federal law enforcement and steeper penalties to deter and prosecute this criminal activity,” said Ed Longanecker, President of the Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association.

Since 2008, the FBI has partnered with local law enforcement through the Permian Basin Oil Theft Task Force to investigate oilfield theft, gather intelligence, and combat increasing theft in the region. Their efforts are crucial to safeguarding the integrity of the nation’s largest oil-producing region.

The Permian Basin is the largest oil-producing region in the United States, contributing 46.3% of the nation's oil production in 2022. However, since early this year, there has been a sharp rise in oil and gas theft—worsened by ongoing border issues. Oil and gas theft presents a significant threat both economically and nationally as truckloads of oil and valuable equipment are frequently stolen. These assets are sold on the black market fueling illicit activities in West Texas.

In April, Congressman Gonzales brought this issue up with FBI Director Christopher Wray during a House Appropriations Committee hearing.

Authorities have noted that criminal networks are exploiting illegal immigrants for assistance in these crimes linking border security issues with organized crime.

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