Ecuadorean oil minister Carlos Pareja Tuesday said he wanted OPEC to reduce its crude output ceiling by under 2% to provide support for global oil prices. In Vienna ahead of Friday’s OPEC meeting there, Pareja said “if Ecuador’s proposal to diminish production by less than 2% receives support in OPEC, there’s a certainty that the international [crude] market will improve” for producers. Pareja’s comments were reported in an Ecuadorean oil ministry statement. Ecuadorian officials called for the 2% reduction late last week. During an Arab-South American summit in Saudi Arabia mid-November, Ecuador’s populist president, Rafael Correa, recommended an OPEC output cut of 2 million b/d, or 1.6% of daily average output. At the time, Correa acknowledged it would be difficult to get the oil cartel to agree on the reduction. Pareja is holding bilateral meetings with other OPEC members Wednesday and Thursday, as well as with OPEC Secretary General […]