VENEZUELA TO LEND OIL TO ECUADOR FOR EXPORT

  venezuela will supply ecuador with an
  as yet undetermined amount of crude oil to help it meet export
  commitments, seriously affected by last week's earthquake,
  energy and mines minister arturo hernandez grisanti said.
      He gave few details about the deal, but said a crude oil
  loan agreement will be made between state oil companies
  petroleos de venezuela (pdvsa) and ecuador's cepe.
      Ecuador was forced to suspend oil exports for an expected
  four months after an earthquake damaged a pipeline. Oil
  accounts for 60 per cent of its export income.
       Hernandez was speaking to reporters at miraflores palace
  on the results of talks with ecuador's deputy energy minister
  fernando santos alvite, who arrived here last night.
      "the volume lent to ecuador would be discounted from its
  opec quota and would not affect venezuela's," he said. "we would
  from august on produce our own quota and sell the additional
  amounts that ecuador would be repaying us," he said.
      He did not elaborate on the quota arrangements but did say
  ecuador would notify opec by telex that venezuela would be
  lending it a certain amount over so many days.
      Venezuela's opec output quota is currently 1.495 million
  barrels a day, and ecuador's has been set at 210,000 bpd.
  

