CARACAS, Venezuela – State-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) reported on Oct. 8 a fire ignited while workers were drilling a well in the rich Orinoco Belt, the company tweeted, adding no one was injured in the blaze.

The fire was the latest in a series of blazes that have erupted at PDVSA facilities. In August, a fire at a refinery in Amuay killed 42 and injured hundreds. In September, a fire broke out in two gasoline tanks, but no one was injured.

The latest fire occurred in a rural area and was extinguished before it could do extensive damage to the Orinoco Belt, which has the capacity to hold 2.2 billion barrels of heavy crude oil.

Venezuela leads South America in oil production and is home to the world’s largest oil reserves.

[AFP (Venezuela), 08/10/2012; El Mundo (Venezuela), 08/10/2012]