North Texas Residents Indicted in Oil Theft Conspiracy

A federal grand jury in Lubbock indicted more than a dozen defendants from Texas and New Mexico for their roles in an alleged large-scale oil theft conspiracy in the Permian Basin, according to the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas announced the charges in an April 22 press release. According to the release, the indictment charges each of the defendants with conspiracy to transport stolen property interstate commerce.

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Additionally, several defendants are also charged with interstate transportation of stolen property, and receipt, possession, or sale of stolen property.

According to the indictment returned on April 8, all 14 defendants allegedly conspired to transport stolen crude oil across the New Mexico-Texas border for the purposes of enriching themselves.

The indictment alleges that several defendants stole crude oil from oil producers in the Eastern New Mexico region of the Permian Basin, some of which was then stored on land that one of the conspirators leased from the U.S. government.

That conspirator then allegedly sold the stolen crude oil to others in the conspiracy at significantly below the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) pricing. That is the benchmark used to price crude in the Permian Basin and much of the U.S.

The charges allege that the conspirators, knowing the crude oil was stolen, then transported it across the New Mexico-Texas border for further sale at a profit.

The Texas defendants named in the suit are:

• Randell Wayne Reid, 41, of Electra; owner of Reidco Enterprises
• James Darrell Reid, 65, of Electra; owner of Reidco Enterprises
• Christopher Frederick Harris, 22, of Seminole

If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the conspiracy charge and up to 10 years in federal prison on each count of interstate transportation of stolen property, and receipt, possession, or sale of stolen property.