World Bulletin / News Desk

Venezuela has seized two oil rigs belonging to unit of the Houston-based Superior Energy Services on Thursday after the company closed them down because the state was months behind on debts.

A judge was accompanied by four members of the local police and national guard in the state of Anzoategui as they ordered the depot to surrender to rigs to a client of PDVSA, the state-owned oil firm.

The relationship between Superior and PDVSA hit a crisis in July after negotiations broke down due to unpaid bills since the month of December.

The Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro is yet to make a public speech on the seizure, and a PDVSA spokesman denied having any knowledge about the case. Greg Rosenstein, a spokesman for Superior, is also yet to make a statement.