Ecuador Inks Supply Deal with Thailand

Ecuador's state oil company Petroecuador has signed a crude oil supply agreement with a division of Thailand's state-run PTT under which the Andean country will receive a $2.5 billion up-front payment, local media reported on Friday.

The agreement was signed in June with International Trading Pte Ltd for the sale of 116.6 million barrels of Oriente and Napo crudes, daily newspaper El Universo reported.

"We have signed an up-front sale of crude with (PTT)," Petroecuador International Trade Manager Nilsen Arias said in an interview.

Strategic Sectors Minister Rafael Poveda last week had said an agreement would be signed with PTT for about $500 million. The talks between the two companies first became public in May.

Government officials were not immediately available for comment. Ecuador signed similar agreements with China totaling about $5.5 billion between 2009 and 2014.

Low oil prices have hit the economy of Ecuador, OPEC's smallest member, leading it to seek new funding sources in order to maintain public investments planned for this year.

Ecuador produces around 550,000 barrels of oil per day.

Reporting by Alexandra Valencia