Mexico Imports Gasoline as Thefts Cause Shortages
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Mexico is importing 75,000 extra barrels of gasoline per day in an "unprecedented" move to mitigate shortages in several states caused by illegal pipeline taps, authorities said.
An official at the state-run energy firm Pemex said the "extraordinary measures" were needed to supply service stations in several cities.
"We have increased our imports of products to almost 75,000 barrels, an unprecedented figure," Francisco Fuentes Saldana, Pemex's stock and distribution deputy director, told the Televisa network.
A Pemex spokesman told AFP that the imports from the United States, which began last week, are on top of 400,000 barrels of gasoline that Mexico normally receives from around the world.
The special import will likely be cut by half by Wednesday as production at refineries increases, the spokesman said, adding that the temporary measure should end by next week.
Fuentes blamed the shortage on "an exponential increase of illegal taps in recent years."
Drug cartels have been stealing gasoline from pipelines as they diversify their business.
Illegal taps have increased from 1,620 in 2012 to 4,218 in 2014, Fuentes said. This year, authorities have already found 2,813 illegal taps.
Shortages at service stations have been reported in a half-dozen states, including Aguascalientes, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Jalisco, Nuevo Leon and Zacatecas.
Long lines of cars formed at service stations last week in Guadalajara, Mexico's second biggest city, but fewer were seen over the weekend as the problem appeared to wane.
