MOSCOW, July 19. /TASS/. Russia will raise oil production at joint projects in Venezuela by the end of this year, according to Venezuelan Oil Minister Pedro Rafael Tellechea. He noted that one of the Russian-Venezuelan joint companies increased output by 95% over the previous year.

"Production will increase at our five joint ventures with Russia. It is already expanding. One company increased production by 95% compared to the plan," he said.

Tellechea stated that during his visit to Moscow and conversations with Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov, no new projects in Venezuela were discussed. "We have only talked about the current projects. We are currently studying all existing initiatives. We've made considerable progress, and we're preparing for a trip to Moscow in October to meet with the entire administration and hold meetings," he said. The Russian-Venezuelan intergovernmental commission is set to meet in October, as previously reported.

The minister added that trade between Russia and Venezuela increased by more than 40%, with private enterprises playing a growing part in this development. Meanwhile, the combined output of these joint ventures is around 120 thousand

In general, Venezuela plans to expand oil production to more than 1 mln barrels per day by the end of the year, and the country's exports would increase to around 60%, he said.