Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Ivanhoe Energy Inc., a Canadian oil and natural-gas producer, will begin production of crude in Ecuador in nine months, Quito-based newspaper El Comercio reported, citing Luis Jaramillo, president of PetroEcuador, the country's state-owned oil company.

Vancouver-based Ivanhoe might produce 108,000 barrels of heavy oil a day at the Pungarayacu field, Jaramillo was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

The Canadian company plans to invest close to $5 billion in the project, and Ecuador will pay it $37 per barrel for extracting the oil, El Comercio said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Stephan Kueffner in Quito at skueffner@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 4, 2008 10:08 EDT