In an effort to stop wide scale theft of refined products such as petrol and diesel from its network of pipelines, Mexico's state-owned oil company Pemex has announced that it will no longer transport ready-to-use products through its system.

Instead the last phase of the mixing process will take place when the petrol and diesel reach the company's storage facilities.

While Pemex has been battling product theft by Mexican drug gangs for several years now there was a huge spike of 70 % last year, amounting to over $1 billion worth of fuel. The action also contributes to severe environmental damage in the areas where the illegal tapping occurs.

Emilio Lozoya, the company’s chief executive, said Wednesday that “it’s a very serious problem for the company but above all it’s a grave problem for the nation." “The resources that they are illegally extracting belong to the Mexican state.”