War on Iran sparks gas theft epidemic

Incidents of driving off without paying in Britain are up 27%, while Americans report their fuel tanks being drilled

A wave of “fill up and flee” crime is sweeping petrol stations across the UK, while American drivers are waking up to drilled-through tanks and drained fuel as the US-Israeli war on Iran has sparked a spike in oil and gas prices across the globe, according to media reports and industry watchdogs.

The crisis has been mostly triggered by the de-facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint that handles roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply. The situation has been exacerbated by Iranian retaliatory strikes on the Gulf energy infrastructure – although the attacks have now been paused as part of a tentative US-Iran truce.

Petrol prices in the UK have surged to over £1.58 ($2.14) a liter on average, up from £1.33 before the war, according to the Royal Automobile Club. Rising prices encouraged a 27% increase in drive-off thefts, according to a crime prevention watchdog Forecourt Eye.

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A study by the body, which was based on data from around 500 petrol stations across England, Scotland and Wales, found more than 6,500 liters of fuel were stolen every day in March, a 15.7% rise from February. It also calculated that if this data is extrapolated nationwide, petrol stations would be losing around £1.25m ($1.69 million) each week.

“At current fuel costs, motorists deliberately evading paying for fuel is costing the sector more than £100m a year,” Claire Nichol, executive director of the British Oil Security Syndicate, told The Sun, adding that operators should be “extra vigilant during peak periods.”

The picture is the same across the Atlantic. As of Monday, the American Automobile Association pegged the US national average at over $4 per gallon and up to $6 in California. Before the war, the AAA average was less than $3.

On Sunday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright admitted that sub-$3 gas “might not happen until next year.” The comments triggered a sharp rebuke from US President Donald Trump who called the statement “totally wrong,” adding that the prices will fall “as soon as this [war] ends.”

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While US authorities have not released consolidated data on gas thefts, the Washington Post reported such incidents, noting that thieves were now using drills to bore holes in vehicle fuel tanks and drain the contents — sometimes into nothing more sophisticated than milk jugs. One Arizona resident complained to the paper that he was left not only with an empty tank, but also with a $3,000 repair bill.

Europe has seen prices soar as well, with media reporting a spike of up to 40% in diesel prices in Germany since the start of the war. In France, overall energy prices rose by almost 9% in March. The crisis has also led to a 51% rise in sales of electric cars across the continental part of Europe.

In Australia, Rowan Lee, the chief executive of the ACAPMA fuel industry watchdog, said that fuel theft from service stations had increased by between 8% and 30% nationally since late February. In addition, a study by the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research estimated that for an every 10 cent increase in petrol price, there are up to 120 additional reported incidents of service station fraud a month in the state alone.

In a sharp contract, Russia — which has no structural fuel deficit – has mostly evaded the spike in gas prices. As of late April, a liter of middle-grade petrol costs 68 rubles ($0.91), up slightly from 67 rubles in late February.

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At the same time, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak ordered legislation banning gasoline exports to protect domestic supply, citing what he called “turbulence in the global market for crude oil.”