Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said on Sunday he would nationalize oil foreign companies who continue to reject new state-proposed deals.
The government is trying to persuade foreign oil operators to give up profit-sharing deals and sign new service-provider agreements, under which their profits will be determined by Quito.
"I've ran out of patience. All my numerous requests to review terms of oil extraction for foreign businesses were ignored," Correa said on the national TV.
"In the coming weeks I will send a bill to Congress, giving me the authority to nationalize foreign companies which refuse to sign new agreements," he said.
Spanish-Argentinean Repsol-YPF, Chinese Andes Petroleum and Brazilian state company Petrobras currently operate in the country. According to previously signed accords, they were allowed to obtain 80% of crude they extracted.
Ecuador is Latin America's fifth-largest oil producer. Of 486,000 barrels of crude oil pumped in Ecuador daily, 327,000 of were taken out of the country in 2009. The country's oil income stood at $6.264 billion last year.
However, 56% of the country's 13.4 million people live below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.
MEXICO, April 18 (RIA Novosti)
