Economy
US oil driller Helmerich & Payne said on Thursday that Venezuela's state run oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) owes it nearly USD 100 million and that it began to halt rigs in the South American country.

So far, two of Helmerich rigs in Venezuela have ceased operations, and that number is likely to increase to five by the end of February as the current work agreements expire, Reuters reported.  

"In the absence of any improvement of receivable collections, the remaining rigs would probably become idle by the end of July this year," Helmerich said in its quarterly earnings release.

However, Helmerich officials told investors on a conference call that they hoped to solve the issue and return to normal operations in a near future.