Ecuador Min: To Change Oil Contracts To Give State Majority4-3-08 1:52 PM EDT

CANCUN, Mexico -(Dow Jones)- Ecuador hopes to raise its participation in oil projects to more than 50% following contract negotiations with private firms, Oil and Mining Minister Galo Chiriboga Fambrano said Thursday.
He said the state's current ownership stake in oil projects ranges from 30% to 35%.

"This is very low," he told reporters during a briefing at a meeting of African, Latin American and Caribbean energy ministers.

"It will be more than 50%."

He said the contract negotiations could be finalized as early as next week.

The contract talks involve oil majors Petrobras (PBR) and Repsol YPF (REP), among others.

-By Peter Millard, Dow Jones Newswires; 52-55-5080-3454; peter.millard@ dowjones.com