How Colombia's Booming Cocaine Business Is Driving Rampant Oil Theft

Surging petroleum theft is weighing on Colombia’s beaten-down oil industry, which is beset by geopolitical headwinds on all sides. While attacks on energy infrastructure in the strife-torn country have plunged over the last decade, the volume of oil being stolen in Colombia is soaring. In the past, petroleum theft has been blamed on the myriad illegal armed bands operating in Colombia with higher oil prices and soaring demand for gasoline to refine coca leaf, a key step in the manufacturing of cocaine, the key drivers. In a stunning…