Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Ecuador to join OPEC in near future - secretary-general al-Badri

VIENNA (Thomson Financial) - OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri said Tuesday that he expected Ecuador to soon join the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, after Quito officially requested to become a member.

"We received an official letter from Ecuador last week. I am expecting Ecuador will be a member of OPEC in the near future," Badri said in an interview with Agence France-Presse at the organisation's headquarters in Vienna.

Ultimately however, "it is a decision of the conference" of member states, which will take place in September in the Austrian capital, he added.

Asked whether he thought the cartel would again welcome Ecuador, previously a member of OPEC from 1973 to 1992, into its ranks, Badri said: "I hope so."

Ecuador would thereby become the organisation's 13th member, alongside Algeria, Angola, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Venezuela.

Sudan has also been considered for membership but has not yet made a formal request to join the organisation, Badri added.

tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomson.com

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