QUITO (AFP) — Ecuador will return to OPEC's fold next month, its President Rafael Correa said Saturday.
"Ecuador is going to be taking a great step next month, which is its return to the Organization of Petroeum Exporting Countries," Correa said in his weekly radio program.
Ecuador's bid is backed by Venezuela, the only Latin American member of OPEC. Ecuador produces 530,000 barrels of oil per day -- the country's top export -- and is the fifth largest producer in South America.
Correa had announced that Ecuador would apply to rejoin OPEC after the leftist leader was elected in November.
However, the Andean nation faces a debt to OPEC of 5.3 billion dollars left over from when it withdrew from the organization.
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