---------------------------------- 18652
****************
VENEZUELA BACKS INCREASE IN ECUADOR OPEC QUOTA
    CARACAS, Oct 19 - Venezuela will back Ecuador's bid to
raise its OPEC quota above 221,000 barrels per day (bpd)
because it is a justifiable demand, Venezuelan Energy Minister
Arturo Hernandez Grisanti said on Monday.
    He told reporters the country deserved a higher quota in
compensation for the five months it was forced to suspend oil
production when its main pipeline was destroyed by an
earthquake last March.
    "For this five-month period, Ecuador did not exercise its
right to produce 221,000 bpd," he said. "We should recognize
Ecuador's right to increase its quota ... There is a basis of
justice in that country's petition."
    He added however, the quota increase should be gradual to
avoid harming the market, he added.
    Hernandez Grisanti said he understood Ecuador would
formally submit the request for a higher quota at the next
ministerial conference of the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) opening December 9 in Vienna.