OPEC's secretary-general has promised Ecuador to support Quito to modernize its oil fields and build a joint refinery with Venezuela.

A statement from Ecuador's Oil Ministry says OPEC will train Ecuadorian technicians in Vienna, Austria in support of the construction of the USD 5b (euro 3.2 billion) joint Ecuadorian-Venezuelan oil refinery on the Andean nation's Pacific coast.

The statement also said that OPEC chief Abdalla Salem El-Badri supports Ecuador's bid to be compensated by the international community for not tapping oil reserves in the Amazon rainforest, AP reported.

Ecuador's national oil company has witnessed a drop in output in recent years due to aging equipment and a lack of investment. Its current production remains at 170,000 barrels per day, one third of the country's total output.

A few days ago, the company drastically lowered its output growth estimate for 2008 from eight percent to one percent.

Ecuador first joined OPEC in 1973, but quit it in 1992 as a result of a dispute over the production quotas assigned by the organization.

The country decided to resume its membership of the organization last year and now is one of its 13 members.

BGA/HAR