(The Center Square) – Several bills have been filed in the Texas legislature to address oil field theft.
State Sen. Kevin Sparks, R-Midland, the only member of the Texas legislature who is an executive of an oil and gas company, filed several of them.
Although oil field theft has gone on for years, it escalated under the Biden administration’s border crisis that ushered in increased cartel and illegal border crosser crime.
“We’ve suffered from oil field theft forever, but in the past, it was more one-off operations,” Sparks said at a Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association (TIPRO) event this week in Austin. “What we’ve clearly defined this time around is that with the millions of folks that have come across the border illegally, we’ve allowed cartel activity to basically set up shop. It’s a much different problem than what we’ve seen in the past. It’s highly orchestrated and it is therefore more challenging to address.”
Sparks has filed several bills, including SB 1320, which creates the Organized Oilfield Theft Prevention Unit within the Texas Department of Public Safety. It defines oil and gas equipment, petroleum products and directs the unit to investigate and arrest individuals involved in oil field theft.
The unit would be headquartered in the Permian Basin in DPS region 4, which includes 36 counties in west Texas. It’s also tasked with educating the general public and industry professionals about organized oilfield theft prevention, maintaining a centralized oilfield theft database and reporting progress to the state legislature.
State Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, filed a similar bill in the House.
Sparks also filed SB 1043 to amend existing law related to an advisory committee working with local law enforcement agencies investigating theft of regulated materials, including metal recycling entities. The bill expands the committee to include one sheriff experienced with investigating tubular steel theft used for drilling and completing oil and gas wells and one member who represents the oil and natural gas industry.
“We already have a law enforcement mechanism and obviously all of this stuff that’s being stolen is getting out onto public roadways, so they have the ability to police that, but we need more coordination with our local law enforcement, our county sheriff’s office,” Sparks said. The goal is to make arrests and prosecute offenders. However, he’s hopeful that Trump administration policies, including targeting cartels, will help the industry the most, he said.
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump issued a series of executive orders to secure the border, declared an invasion at the southwest border, declared a national emergency at the southwest and northern borders, designated cartels and violent gang members as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, directed the U.S. military to expand border security operations, and repealed numerous Biden administration parole programs, The Center Square reported. He did so after a record more than 14 million people were reported illegally entering the country, including more than two million who evaded capture, under the Biden administration, The Center Square exclusively reported.
“We’re very much recognized that this is an issue that needs to be resolved, so we’re happy to work with the senator’s office to make sure this happens,” Darby said. He previously worked on funding the Border of Prosecution Unit, which assists county prosecutors and district attorneys prosecuting border-related crime, including cartel and gang members and human traffickers, among others.
Sparks and state Rep. Brooks Landgraf, R-Odessa, also filed SB 494 and HB 1647 to create a Theft of Petroleum Products Task Force within the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the oil and natural gas industry. It requires an ongoing study to be conducted about oil field theft and its long-term economic impact.
Prior to the border crisis, an FBI-led Oilfield Theft Task Force based in Midland estimated that in 2016, losses from theft of tools, pipes and valves in the Permian Basin region averaged between $200,000 and $300,000 a month. That excludes an Energy Security Council estimate that estimated between 1% to 3% of product was stolen in Texas at the time. Based on production of more than one billion barrels of oil and condensate in Texas in 2016, the ESC estimated the industry saw an annual loss of 10 million to 30 million barrels, or roughly $450 million to nearly $1.5 billion in revenue losses.
Since then, losses have escalated as cartel operatives, including human and drug smugglers, steal vehicles and product to facilitate their multi-billion-dollar illicit business.
State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, highlighted the costs to the industry when she filed SB 1871 in 2017 to create criminal offenses and penalties for oil and gas equipment theft. Her bill passed the legislature nearly unanimously and was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott.
This year, she filed SB 1054 with Sen. Cesar Blanco, D-El Paso, to amend her 2017 bill. It expands the definition of oil and gas equipment and increases penalties. Blanco also filed SB 1123 related to prosecuting and punishing petroleum product theft.
Texas Democrats at the border have historically supported the oil and natural gas industry, recognizing it as a leading job creator and massive revenue source of counties and school districts. At the federal level, Texas congressional Democrats at the border opposed Biden administration policies halting oil and gas leases and called on Congress to pass permitting reform, The Center Square reported.