Ecuador names Icaza as new oil minister

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa has named chemical engineer Jose Icaza as the Andean nation’s new oil minister, according to a decree published yesterday.

Icaza since November had worked as the manager of state-run oil company Petroamazonas, which oversees the majority of the country’s oil production.

He was named to the post following the resignation of former minister Carlos Pareja. The decree did not offer details as to why Pareja left the post.

Ecuador is the smallest member of OPEC, with a production of around 550,000 barrels per day.