2 Chevron workers held

Chevron said Tuesday that two of its employees in Venezuela were arrested by local authorities, in what appeared to be the first such detentions of a private oil company’s workers amid a growing anticorruption purge.

It was not clear what led to the arrests. The San Ramon company provided no details except to say the employees were taken into custody Monday. Chevron said it contacted authorities to understand the reasons behind the detention and ensure its employees’ safety and well-being.

Venezuelan officials did not immediately comment.

President Nicolas Maduro has been steadily handing control of the nation’s oil industry to the military as a reward for its loyalty while authorities have arrested dozens of Venezuelan officials or employees at the state oil giant PDVSA in a bid to root out corruption in the OPEC nation’s oil industry.

As part of the anticorruption drive, prosecutors in January ordered or carried out the arrest of the general manager and other top managers at Petropiar, the PDVSAChevron joint venture. They were charged with embezzlement and conspiracy tied to the illegal manipulation of production figures.

The latest arrests are believed to be the first involving a private oil company’s direct employees.

Chevron is the largest of only a handful of U.S. oil companies that stayed in Venezuela after Chavez raised royalties and seized assets to boost the state’s control of the oil industry.