Russia's Rosneft stands by Venezuela investments

The chief of Russian oil giant Rosneft on Tuesday assured shareholders that the company expects its Venezuelan state-owned partner PDVSA to keep up production levels despite the deep crisis in the country.
"We don't expect a significant decrease of production in 2019 in joint projects with PDVSA," Rosneft chief executive Igor Sechin was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying at the annual shareholders' meeting.
"Last year, despite the difficult situation, production growth on company deposits in Venezuela was seven percent," he said.
Since the beginning of the year, Rosneft has sought to justify its political investment in oil-rich Venezuela, a country gripped by a political crisis stemming from hyperinflation and shortages of basic food and supplies.
Some of Venezuela's debt to Moscow, which amounts to billions of dollars, is repaid in oil.