Venezuela's state oil firm PDVSA has confirmed that Aban Offshore will retrieve the gas exploration rig that sunk off the country's coast on Thursday of last week.

Speaking to Dow Jones Newswires, Eulogio Del Pino, vice-president of exploration and production at PDVSA, said that Aban, which leased the rig to PDSVA last year, has decided to salvage the vessel for its assets, which include 400,000 litres of gas-oil used for electricity generation.

All crewmembers onboard the rig were evacuated and no environmental damage was caused, PDVSA confirmed.

Elsewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, BP has announced that its latest effort to contain the oil spill caused by the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig is working successfully.

There has been a mass mobilisation of both paid response workers and volunteers since the spill began last month, with many oil and gas training companies in Louisiana, Texas, Florida and other coastal states involved in unprecedented training programmes.

Oil and Gas Directory: Training and Development