Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries won't let the price of crude oil fall below $100 per barrel.

OPEC would step in and cut oil production to protect that price level, Correa said today in a television interview on the Cuenca-based ETV Telerama network. His comments were published in a transcript on the presidential Web site.

Ecuador, the oil cartel's smallest member, has a daily output quota of 520,000 barrels that it has struggled to meet in recent months. It rejoined the group last year after a 15-year pause.

Correa said that oil production would increase due to investment by state-owned PetroEcuador and foreign oil companies, with whom the South American country is renegotiating contracts.

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

Last Updated: September 26, 2008 12:41 EDT