This past week Ecuador was invited to
rejoin the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (
OPEC) after a 13 year absence from the organization; Ecuador had been a member for thirty years from 1963–1993. Ecuador's membership should be officially approved during the upcoming OPEC summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this November 17 - 18. Even though Ecuador never left the organization it ceased making membership payments in 1992, but decided to reactivate its membership while negotiating contracts with private oil companies after a recent change in the nation's law gives the country a greater share of oil profits due to the rise in worldwide oil prices. According to
Presna Latina earlier this year approval by Ecaudorian president, Rafael Correa, is all that is needed for reintegration. A
three-year payment plan for unpaid dues amounting to almost six million U.S. dollars has also been agreed upon with OPEC member nations.
