PDVSA Rig Explosion in Apure State Injures at Least 17 Workers

An explosion at PDVSA's Colven 02 rig in Apure state, in Venezuela's central Los Llanos region, injured at least 17 workers late on June 29, including two with severe burns; some were transported to Colombia for treatment and others to the nearby town of Guasdualito. Apure's Citizen Security Secretariat attributed the blast to a "release of flammable gases." Chinese state media Xinhua reported a lower toll of 12 injured, illustrating the usual reporting spread on PDVSA incidents. The accident underscored the chronic disrepair of PDVSA's aging infrastructure at a moment when the state oil company's operational capacity was already strained by the earthquake relief effort.