MEXICO CITY, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), Mexico's government-owned oil company, will stop shipping finished oil through its pipelines in an effort to combat oil theft.

The company's switch to transporting unfinished oil was announced after Pemex declared it lost $1.14 billion to theft and distribution to black markets in 2014, a 70 percent increase from the previous year.


More than 2,600 illegal taps were discovered. Oil will become ready-to-use after undergoing a mixing phase at storage locations.

"In order to strengthen the security of transporting fuels, Pemex will move through its pipeline unfinished gasoline and diesel, which at this stage are still unfit for use in vehicles and industrial plants," Pemex said in a statement on Tuesday.

The company warned users not to buy stolen fuel because it could damage car engines. Many criminal drug gangs, like the notorious Los Zetas, are linked to the oil thefts.

Pemex sued nine U.S. companies in 2011 for allegedly buying stolen Mexican oil products.