Ecuador Threatens to Expel Oil Companies

[Judi Lynn]

Ecuador Threatens to Expel Oil Companies
Source: Xinhua Financial New
Date: 10/07/2008 17:17

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa has threatened to expel foreign oil companies if they fail to lift dwindling output in the OPEC nation.

Correa, a leftist former economy minister, issued the warning in a speech over the weekend, only days after he won a referendum to increase his sway in the country's oil and mining sectors.

"Don't play with fire. You (companies) either raise output or leave the country," Correa said on Saturday during his weekly media address. He added that output of foreign oil companies has declined since negotiations for new contracts began last year.

He also threatened to nationalize oil fields owned by Brazil's Petrobras over delays to transfer an oil block to the state. Both sides had already agreed to hand over the block inside a protected Amazon jungle park.

Oil exports are Ecuador's main source of revenue and key to Correa's plan to boost public investment to help the poor.

More:
http://www.tbpetroleum.com.br/news/see/id/13530/titulo/ecuador-threatens-to-expel-oil-companies