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.