Russia will invest $5 billion to raise Venezuela’s oil production by 1 million b/d under a new economic agreement, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Thursday. “We have signed contracts to guarantee investments of more than $5 billion with our Russian partners in joint ventures to raise oil production,” Maduro said on Venezuelan state TV channel VTV. Venezuela pumped 1.18 million b/d in October, according to the latest S&P Global Platts OPEC production survey, down from 2.09 million b/d two years ago. The agreements would involve joint ventures between Venezuela’s state-owned company PDVSA and its Russian partners in Venezuela, although Maduro did not specify which companies would be involved. Maduro made the announcement during his visit to Moscow. After a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Maduro also said Russia will supply 600,000 mt of […]