Ecuador's leftist government of President Rafael Correa in August began renegotiating 33 foreign oil contracts, including with China's Andes Petroleum and PetroOriental.

The talks followed a July 26 legal reform under which the state is 100-percent owner of crude oil production in the South American nation.

Contracts are to be negotiated with the goal of turning them into oil industry services contracts, with the aim of bringing in 85-90 percent of oil income for Ecuador, up sharply from under 20 percent just a few years ago.

The final contracts are to be ironed out by January 23, 2011.

Correa on Saturday said "a couple" of companies had not reached agreement and would cease to operate in Ecuador, but that most of the oil concerns had struck deals with his government.

However, a Natural Resources Ministry official told AFP anonymously on Monday that "the government will try to reach an understanding... until the last minute."

Chile's Enap oil company, which since 2003 has extracted oil from Ecuador's Amazon basin region, is expected to sign a new contract with Ecuador on Tuesday, the ministry said.

Brazil's Petrobras, which pumps some 20,000 barrels of oil per day in Ecuador, reportedly has not reached an agreement and will likely pull up its stakes.

Other major companies involved in the talks include Spanish-Argentine YPF and Italy's ENI.

Ecuador's Prosecutor General Diego Garcia a week ago said Andes Petroleum and PetroOriental had warned Quito foreign oil companies could head for international mediation if their deals fall through.

Without a deal, Ecuadoran law calls for a foreign company's contracts and investments to be liquidated, with Ecuador's state-run Petroamazonas taking over all drilling operations.

Correa said companies failing to renegotiate could appeal to the World Bank's International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), from which Ecuador withdrew last year refusing to recognize its jurisdiction.

"We'll see what the ICSID decides. We know they always take the side of the companies, but we'll give it all to defend ourselves," he added.

International mediation, Correa said, "is the worst scenario both for the companies and for the state," adding that he trusted "friendly agreements" could be reached instead.

One of just two Latin American members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, along with Venezuela, Ecuador currently produces 481,000 barrels per day, including 192,400 barrels extracted by foreign firms.

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