French oil company Maurel & Prom will invest $400 million in an oil field in Venezuela, whose production is in free fall, President Nicolas Maduro said on Monday. "A good deal has been concluded to increase production in an important field" in the northwest, Maduro said on state television after hosting Maurel & Prom owner Michel Hochard at the presidential palace.

Less than five years ago, Venezuela was producing almost three million barrels a day but that figure dropped to 1.17 million in October, according to secondary data published by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec).

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019