Iraq contractor made $450,000 selling fuel on black market
A contractor working in Iraq pleaded guilty for selling Iraqi fuel on the black market.
From the AP (via Google News):
A former Army contractor pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing nearly $40 million worth of jet and diesel fuel from a U.S. Army base in Iraq and selling it on the black market.
Lee W. Dubois, 32, of [...]
Nigeria looks for ways to track “blood oil”
The president of Nigeria is looking for help in developing a system that would track oil in the same fashion as blood diamonds.
From the AP (via the Washington Post):
Nigeria’s president called Thursday for help finding a way to fingerprint crude oil stocks in order to combat the theft and lucrative overseas sale of unrefined petroleum, [...]
Venezuela sends gas to Colombia to curb smuggling
Last month, Venezuela agreed to send millions of barrels of oil to Colombia to curb the illegal smuggling of gas across the border.
From the AP (via IHT):
Venezuela’s Oil Ministry plans to send Colombia’s Norte de Santander state at least 50,000 barrels (8 million liters) of oil a month starting Thursday and could double that supply, [...]
Nigerian Oil Smuggling
The BBC has an report on oil smuggling in the Nigerian Delta.
From the BBC:
Under cover of night dozens of barges queue up to dock at a jetty in a creek somewhere in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta.
Their holds are filled with stolen oil running from valves illegally installed into a pipeline.
Full, they chug downstream to meet [...]
Gas smuggling in Vietnam down 80 percent
Due to increased government intervention, petrol smuggling into Cambodia from Vietnam is down 80 percent since the start of the year.
From VietNamNet:
Fuel prices in Cambodia increased to 1.5 USD per litre, 5,000 VND (0.3 USD) higher than those in Vietnam .
Most of the smuggling took place at night and sometimes during the day, usually by [...]
Criminals making profit due to high energy cost
Black market activities are increasing in the energy sector due to its increasing costs.
From CBC:
Criminals have profited from the increasing demand for energy and the rising price of oil. The energy boom has given bad guys the opportunity to seek new profit centers and has encouraged corrupt behavior in countries that produce oil and gas.
Iraq passes new law to crack down on oil smugglers
Iraq lawmakers passed a new law that aims to crack down on oil smugglers in Iraq.
From Reuters (via the Guardian):
“According to official reports handed to parliament, Iraq is losing roughly 105,000 oil barrels a day from the southern fields in smuggling operations,” Balu said.
“Smuggling is a flourishing industry in the south, and parliament is taking [...]
Palestinians shop on black market for fuel
Palestinians are forced to shop on the black market to meet their fuel requirements.
From AFP:
The Islamist movement Hamas, which seized control of the territory last June, set up a fuel rationing system last month in a bid to cope with the shortages and, some say, to fill its own coffers.
In order to get fuel legally, [...]
Venezuela faces losses from Gas Smuggling
Venezuela is attempting to curb losses from its citizens smuggling oil out of the country.
From Reuters:
Oil-producer Venezuela is awash in revenues from record high prices but is struggling to contain the lucrative business of smuggling subsidized fuel — the cheapest in the world.
The OPEC nation says it loses 27,000 barrels per day and $1 billion [...]
Nigeria a hot-spot for oil smuggling
From AFP:
Nigeria has become the world piracy ‘hotspot’, with its prized oil industry a particular target, and the raiders have exposed flaws in the country’s security.
Despite the massive revenues earned from oil, officials concede Nigeria is ill equipped to combat pirates who ply the seas with speed boats, modern machine guns and radios and target [...]
