Copper thieves appear to be targeting Chesapeake Energy .
Since April 8, copper thieves have hit ten separate Chesapeake Energy natural gas well sites within the city limits of Fort Worth, according to incident reports from the Fort Worth Police Department.
There have been 40 copper thefts at Chesapeake Energy gas wells in Fort Worth since Jan. 1, according to the police reports.
Those thefts happened at 37 different facilities, meaning three wells have been hit twice.
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The theft reports suggest a wide range of estimated losses, estimated between $1,500 to $100,000.
In some of the cases, thieves accessed secured gas well sites by cutting through gate locks, cutting holes in chain link fences and scaling fences topped with barbed wire, according to police reports.
Among the copper items stolen were ground wiring, wiring for the automatic shutdown switch at one facility and lightning rods at several of them, according to the reports.
Chesapeake Energy has yet to respond to an NBC 5 request for comment on the thefts.
