Article failed to say or i failed to read it.

But choosing an out of the way lane to exchange stolen fuel is less so. The fact that it's isolated because it's next to a military base possible shows a lack of forethought...

a place specifically designed to surveil and defend itself with lethal force

You mean the place that, if these were thieves indeed, would have been robed if a farmer did not happen to stroll by?

Yeah, the thieves who usually do this kind of stuff don't think that far or care that much. But I'm open to all possibilities.

Afaik they weren't actually in the base, just in the village neighboring it

That's not common in the UK as far as I'm aware. More likely they were stealing reserves which ordinary people were keeping in sheds and barns, which is fairly common.