OPEC-member Ecuador increased crude production in 2011 by 3 percent to just over 500,000 barrels of oil per day, the Ministry for Non-renewable Natural Resources said on Monday. After taking office in 2007, Ecuador's leftist President Rafael Correa introduced reforms to increase state revenue from the oil industry, which led companies to freeze investments.
However, prompted by high oil prices, some companies have made investments in the past few months, which has helped Ecuador to raise oil output slightly.
Daily output from OPEC's smallest member rose to 500,378 barrels per day in 2011, up from 486,014 barrels per day in 2010, the ministry said in a statement.
The biggest producers were state-run companies Petroamazonas, with 156,822 barrels of oil per day, and Petroecuador, which this year produced 151,512 barrels of oil per day on average.
The two companies plan to merge their upstream operations in the next few months. Ecuador's economy is heavily dependent on oil exports. Higher crude prices have allowed Correa to hike social spending this year, which in turn has boosted his popularity among the country's poor majority ahead of a presidential election scheduled for January 2013.
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