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Ecuador to Return to OPEC, Says
Minister
Ecuadorian Government Minister
Gustavo Larrea said on Thursday
that his country would return to
the Organization of Oil
Exporting Countries (OPEC), from
which it walked out 15 years
ago.
"We think that the country
should return to the OPEC and
the strongest reason to do so is
that we are an oil producing
country," Larrea told foreign
reporters in this capital.
He pointed out that leaving the
organization had a high cost for
Ecuador, although the country
has a small share of the world's
oil production.
Ecuador extracts 550,000 barrels
of oil a day and exports 65
percent of the output, making a
large income to fund 35 percent
of the State's budget.
Larrea noted that by returning
to the OPEC, Ecuador would
receive thousands of millions of
dollars in technical assistance
and soft credits.
The return to that organization
was also favored by Ecuadorian
President Rafael Correa during
his election campaign in 2006.
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