Criminal Legal Means against Trunk Cross-Border Pipelines Theft

Alexander Sergeevich Tumanov

Moscow University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia named after V. Ya. Kikot`, Department of Criminal Law,

Moscow, Russia

Keywords: Criminal legal means of counteraction, a theft, trunk cross-border pipelines, oil, petroleum products, gas,

operation of law in space.

Abstract: One of the acts punishable by criminal law is the theft of energy resources from the pipeline cavity. Pipeline

transportation of oil, petroleum products and gas often becomes an object of unlawful encroachment.

Unauthorized connections with the subsequent seizure of energy resources located in the pipeline cavity have

recently become widespread. Today the embezzlement of hydrocarbons has a transboundary character. The

purpose of this study, first of all, is to determine the borders of jurisdiction and the spatial effect of the criminal

law of individual states, as well as to study the degree of development and consistency of international acts

in the process of counteraction to this negative unlawful phenomenon. The achievement of the considered

goals is possible by solving the following tasks: studying the international legal status of pipeline networks

running simultaneously on the territory of two or more states, taking into account the criminal legal assessment

of socially dangerous acts committed against them; consideration of the principles of operation of the criminal

law in space when the analysed type of theft is committed; using the content analysis method to find out the

total volume and dynamics of thefts from cross-border pipelines. During the research the logical legal and

comparative legal methods were mainly used. On the basis of the received information the author draws a

conclusion about the jurisdictional boundaries and the possibility of applying the principles of the operation

of the criminal law in relation to certain types of transboundary pipelines and identifies prospects for further

research. The significance of the study is manifested in the delimitation of the jurisdiction and powers of the

states on whose territory transboundary pipelines pass, in terms of the use of criminal legal means of

influencing the perpetrators.

1 INTRODUCTION

Criminal legal means of counteraction to the theft of

energy resources from pipelines represent a

combination of criminal legal norms, with the help of

which criminal liability for the commission of the

corresponding criminal act is implemented, other

legal consequences for the subject are determined,

and they are aimed at preventing new crimes. Such

norms include not only the provisions of the Special

Part of the Criminal Law, which determine the

particular types of punishable acts, but also the norms

of the General Part that establish the principles of the

law (in time, space, in a circle of persons), the basis

of complicity, guilt, types and amount of penalty,

other criminal legal consequences, etc.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0851-0163

It is difficult to imagine the modern world without

hydrocarbons. Oil, petroleum products and gas (in

various states) are the most commonly used energy

resources in the world, accounting for over 57.5% of

total primary energy consumption (Dudley, 2019).

Raw materials are transported from the places of

production or processing to the final consumer using

a pipeline transport system. Transmission of oil,

petroleum products and gas over long distances

(interstate and interregional transportation) takes

place using transnational (transboundary) pipelines of

a trunk nature.

The trunk pipelines are essential infrastructure

that connects production areas, processing plants with

citizens and legal entities purchasing such raw

materials (Shaikh et al., 2017). The system of main

pipelines has a high efficiency, speed and scale of the

transmitted primary energy resources. However, the

Tumanov, A.

Criminal Legal Means against Trunk Cross-border Pipelines Theft.

DOI: 10.5220/0010644700003152

In Proceedings of the VII International Scientiﬁc-Practical Conference “Criminal Law and Operative Search Activities: Problems of Legislation, Science and Practice” (CLOSA 2021), pages

389-393

ISBN: 978-989-758-532-6; ISSN: 2184-9854

389

significant length of pipeline transport does not allow

to constantly control over every meter (section) of the

pipe, even with the presence of specialized security

services (Sun, 2016).

For example, the total length of oil pipelines,

petroleum product pipelines and gas pipelines owned

only by the Russian global energy companies PJSC

Gazprom and PJSC Transneft is over 1 million

kilometres in total. The United States has over

200,000 kilometres of oil pipelines and over 2.5

million kilometres of gas pipelines (Ralby, 2017).

The large-scale prevalence and relative availability,

together with the valuable transported resource (oil,

petroleum products and gas), give rise to the spread

of criminal encroachments in relation to pipeline

transport and, first of all, a theft.

The trunk pipelines theft is a socially dangerous

act prohibited by the criminal law in the form of

unlawful withdrawal of raw materials from the pipe

cavity using an unauthorized connection. This type of

theft harms not only economic relations, but also

endangers public safety and environmental order.

Spills of oil and petroleum products as a result of theft

and damage to the pipeline can lead to an

environmental disaster. The issues of criminal legal

counteraction to this kind of embezzlement, general

and special prevention have been considered more

than once in the pages of juridical literature, including

international works (Huiting L., 2018; Ajao, 2018;

Chen, 2021 and others).

The problem of hydrocarbons theft is especially

acute in those countries whose economies are based

on the sale of oil, petroleum products or gas. For

example, the national economy of Nigeria is

completely dependent on the oil sector, since it

accounts for 80% of all government revenues. Every

year there are more than 1,500 attacks on pipeline

systems in order to illegally seize raw materials only

in Nigeria. It poses a huge threat to the country's

national security (Anifowose 2012).

In addition to Nigeria, the hydrocarbon theft is

widespread in Mexico, Iraq, Indonesia and Russia

(Naanen, 2019). Russia possesses a colossal reserve

of oil and other hydrocarbons; this type of mineral

seems to be a socially significant resource

(Pleshakov, 2018). The theft of oil, petroleum

products and gas often goes beyond the national

borders of one state, which allows us to talk about the

transnational nature of the crime. This circumstance

was also emphasized in the reports of international

organizations (UNEP and Interpol, 2016). A proper

criminal legal assessment is, of course, an urgent

component of protection and counteraction to raw

materials theft in those countries where cross-border

pipeline transport passes.

2 MATERIALS AND METHODS

The methodological basis of the study is the logical

legal and comparative legal methods, which are based

on a systematic analysis of juridical literature and

regulatory legal acts. During the research, the method

of content analysis of the media was also used. This

method was aimed at forming a general

understanding of the volume and dynamics of thefts

committed by foreign citizens from Russian main

pipelines running on the territory of other states, or

pipelines that transport Russian hydrocarbon raw

materials in transit. The study analysed regional and

international legislative acts, scientific literature of

both Russian and foreign experts, official statistics

and publications in the media.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

According to official statistics, for the period from

2007 to 2020, on average, over four hundred thefts (of

various forms) of Russian oil, petroleum products and

gas from trunk pipelines are recorded annually.

Existing trends in judicial and investigative practice

indicate that a decrease is not expected in the number

of registered criminal acts and prosecuted persons.

Illegal withdrawal of oil, petroleum products or

gas from the main pipeline is carried out using a

previously made hole in the pipe cavity (tie-in), to

which a fitting is welded and (or) a hose or pipe is

attached. Raw materials are taken into pre-prepared

containers or tank cars, in some cases, the guilty

persons construct a branch from the pipeline to

specially equipped places (storage facilities,

premises, areas with dug-in barrels, etc.). Obviously,

the specified complex of actions and the scale of theft

are not always within the power of one criminal;

therefore, the theft from main pipelines is

characterized by a group nature of the commission,

which in turn increases the social danger of this

phenomenon.

Russian trunk pipelines supply hydrocarbons,

including other states. The main pipelines of an

international character are: gas pipelines Blue Stream

(Turkey, over 1200 km), Turkish Stream (Turkey,

South and South-Eastern Europe, over 900 km),

Yamal-Europe (Belarus, Poland, Germany, over 2000

km), Nord Stream (Germany, over 1200 km) and one

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of the world's largest oil pipelines Druzhba (Belarus,

Poland, Ukraine, over 8900 km). Nord Stream 2 is the

main gas pipeline that will run under the Baltic Sea

from Russia to Germany through the economic zones

and territorial waters of Denmark, Finland and

Sweden. It is in the final stage of construction

(Sziklai, 2020).

Since 2021 the so-called “green” liquefied natural

gas is being delivered to Europe from Russia. This

gas is carbon neutral that it is particular relevant in the

light of global environmental problems. The above

mentioned and other similar variations of the main

pipeline transport are named as transboundary in

science, i.e. pipelines that cross the borders of

sovereignty and / or jurisdiction, originated in the

territory of one state and laid through the territory of

another state. Energy carriers are transported through

cross-border pipelines from the territory of the sender

state to the territory of the recipient state (Urshulya,

2016).

It is obviously that oil, petroleum products and gas

transported through the above mentioned pipelines

are a potential subject of theft. However, in this

regard, a completely natural question arises,

according to the criminal legislation of which country

will there be responsibility for such an act if the

pipeline originates on the territory of Russia (or

belongs to the Russian Federation), and the crime is

committed outside its borders? To answer this

question, it is necessary to determine the

jurisdictional boundaries and the extension of the

scope of the law of a particular state through which

the pipeline passes.

The operation of the criminal law of a separate

state is subordinated to certain principles in relation

to acts committed outside its borders. In particular,

according to the principle of citizenship, if a citizen

of the Russian Federation or a person who

permanently resides in the territory of Russia

commits unlawful actions in relation to a main

pipeline passing through the territory of other

countries in order to remove hydrocarbons from its

cavity, he or she is liable for the criminal law of

Russia. The responsibility of citizens with citizenship

of another state and stateless person is possible on the

basis of the “real principle” of the operation of the law

in such a situation. In accordance with the considered

principle, the implementation of responsibility in

compliance with the criminal law of the Russian

Federation is also possible in relation to foreign

citizens, stateless persons, if the criminal acts are

committed by them outside Russia, but are directed

against the interests of the Russian Federation or the

interests of citizens of the Russian Federation

(Lebedev, 2017). Of course, the theft from cross-

border pipelines belonging to Russia or transporting

Russian raw materials can also be attributed to the

indicated socially dangerous acts.

In this regard, it is necessary to establish the

jurisdiction of the Russian Federation over the main

pipelines carrying out transnational transportation of

fuel. There are two terms “legally unified pipeline”

and “legally connected pipeline” within the

framework of international law. A legally unified

pipeline is understood as such a cross-border pipeline,

which is controlled by common owners throughout its

entire length, has unified transportation conditions

and a management system. The legally connected

pipelines include pipelines in which the ownership

and legal regime of a particular section are

determined by the national legislation of the state

through which it passes (Urshulya, 2016).

The Nord Stream gas pipeline, which is fully

managed by Nord stream AG, is an example of the

first of these models. The company's shareholders are

five legal entities – operators of transport networks,

the controlling stake belongs to the Russian energy

company PJSC Gazprom. The Druzhba oil pipeline is

an example of the legally connected cross-border

trunk pipeline.

Thus, the Russian section of the Druzhba oil trunk

pipeline is owned by PJSC Transneft, the Belarusian

section is owned by Gomeltransneft, the Ukrainian

section is owned by UkrTatNaft, the Czech section of

the pipeline is controlled by the Czech company

Mero, and the Polish and German sections are owned

by the Polish pipeline exploitation company Pern. In

legally connected main oil pipelines, oil product

pipelines and gas pipelines, the ownership of the

transported resources (respectively, oil, petroleum

products and gas) passes from one side to the other at

the points of receipt and delivery of resources, which

are often located near the borders of states. This

procedure takes place with the participation of

specialists from two countries and is accompanied by

the drawing up of an appropriate act.

It is obviously that the implementation of criminal

liability under the legislation of the Russian

Federation, based on the real principle of action, is

possible only in relation to encroachments on the

pipelines of the first model, i.e. those that are

jurisdictionally controlled by the Russian Federation

or Russian transport network operators. Illegal

actions of foreign citizens in relation to other sections

of trunk pipelines supplying raw materials from the

territory of Russia should be assessed in accordance

with the domestic legislation of a particular state.

Criminal Legal Means against Trunk Cross-border Pipelines Theft

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Transnational transit pipelines are an exception to

the general rule. Transit transportation means the

movement of oil, petroleum products or gas from

Russia through the territory of at least one country to

a third country. Such transfers of hydrocarbons are

regulated by private international agreements

between the concerned countries. Transit delivery

implies that the pipeline passing through the territory

of another state may not belong to the sending state

of the raw material, but the raw material itself is

owned by the supplier.

For example, in accordance with Article 10 of the

Agreement between the Government of Russia and

the Government of the Republic of Belarus “On the

transport of natural gas through the territory of the

Republic of Belarus and its supply to consumers in

Belarus”, gas transferred to the Republic of Belarus

for transit transportation is the property of the Russian

Federation. Consequently, the unlawful withdrawal

of energy resources from transboundary pipelines of

a transit nature is subordinated to the real principle

and must be assessed in accordance with the criminal

law of Russia.

To determine a general idea of the volume of

thefts committed from cross-border trunk pipelines,

we used the method of content analysis of the media,

that is, a qualitative and quantitative study of the

content of documents in order to identify or measure

the facts and trends reflected in them (Danilov, 2003).

The study results showed that covert thefts from trunk

pipelines, committed outside the Russian Federation,

are encountered in the practice of the judicial

authorities, however, they are not widespread.

In total, more than 200 reports of the Russian,

Ukrainian, Belarusian, Polish, German and Latvian

press were studied and summarized for the period

from 2007 to 2020. According to the overall volume

of the received data 37 cases of unauthorized tie-ins

were recorded with the subsequent theft of

hydrocarbons from the Russian (or transit) pipeline.

Oil and petroleum products became the subject of

theft in 90% of cases. Most of the analysed illegal

actions are committed in Ukraine (up to 75%).

In addition to the real one, there is a so-called

universal principle of the operation of the law. On its

basis criminal liability for the commission of socially

dangerous acts outside the borders of a certain state is

implemented, regardless of whose interests have

suffered as a result of criminal encroachment. This

principle is aimed at achieving a goal of the

inevitability of criminal liability and punishment,

crime prevention, regardless of the nationality of

perpetrators, as well as a crime scene (Knyazev,

2018). The process of bringing a person (or a group

of persons) to criminal liability on the basis of a

universal principle is possible only if there is an

appropriate international legal act.

Such acts of an international character constitute

multilateral conventions. The basis of the universal

principle is the mutual assistance of the participant

states in the criminal legal counteraction to dangerous

criminal manifestations (Molchanov, 2018).

Unfortunately, today, there are no agreements or

other international acts aimed at combating crime in

the fuel and energy complex, and primarily with the

theft of raw materials. Due to lack of a regulatory

framework, it logically follows that the universal

principle of the criminal law in space in relation to the

theft from transnational oil trunk pipelines, oil

product pipelines and gas pipelines is not applied.

4 CONCLUSIONS

Thus, the jurisdiction of the criminal law of the

Russian Federation extends to all thefts from trunk

pipelines committed by Russian citizens regardless of

a crime scene. On the basis of the real principle, the

scope of the law can be extended to embezzlements

committed by foreign citizens and stateless persons

from the legally unified cross-border and transit

pipelines, if the pipeline system itself or the

transported resources are owned and controlled by the

Russian Federation. The impossibility of applying the

universal principle of action is due to lack of an

international legal framework in the field of theft

counteraction from pipelines. We believe it is

expedient to consolidate and concentrate efforts on

the part of the international community in order to

provide a normative basis for the fight against the

analysed negative phenomenon of a transnational

character. Such a statement is a prospect for

subsequent theoretical developments, including

scientific journals.

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