MIDLAND, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott signed several bills into law on Thursday that aim to crack down on the theft of petroleum products and oil and gas equipment.

Texas is the top state for oil and gas production, accounting for 43% of the nation's crude oil production and 27% of its natural gas, and petroleum theft has been a persistent problem.

On Thursday, Abbott traveled to the epicenter of the industry, the Permian Basin in West Texas. The bill signing took place in the auditorium of the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum in Midland. That area alone accounts for 40% of the nation's oil production and 15% of its natural gas.

"The Permian Basin is the lifeblood of Texas. The lifeblood that quite literally powers our engines but equally literally that powers our economy," Abbott said. "Beca

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