• Correa may nationalise oil operations
• Petrobras mum on Ecuador threat
• 'I've lost patience with foreign players'
• Ecuador has plan 'B' for oil block
• Ecuador sees Oxy ruling before year-end

Correa accepted the resignation of Finance Minister Elsa Viteri, who vacated her office on Tuesday, and the president also told Pinto by telephone his resignation had been accepted, sources close to the two officials told Reuters.

Correa had already changed nine ministers this month after telling the whole Cabinet to submit resignation letters. He has been accepting their resignations one by one. The key economic policy and strategic sectors minister was also replaced.

Pinto was current Opec chief, a post that rotates on an annual basis among member countries. The position is mostly symbolic and lacks significant policy-making weight.

Pinto is currently on a trip to South Korea, where he was informed of the decision, one of his advisors said, adding he may be replaced by Wilson Pastor, the head of an Ecuadorean state-run oil company Petroamazonas.

"Politicians change all the time, but oil policy tends to turn as easily as an oil tanker, so it would be surprising to see any major policy shifts," Lawrence Eagles, head of commodities research at JP Morgan, told Reuters.

"For Opec, because Ecuador is such a small country, the change is insignificant."

Viteri, like Correa a leftist economics professor, was unpopular with Wall Street for her central role in the nation's 2008 default of $3.2 billion in global bonds.

"The departure of Minister Viteri should not be seen as the harbinger of a more conventional and orthodox policy approach as macro policy is and will continue to be ultimately defined by President Correa," Goldman Sachs analyst Alberto Ramos said.

European-trained economist Correa took office in January 2007 and his popularity rose above 70% in his first years in office as he redistributed wealth to the poor and took a tough stance against foreign investors.

His ratings have sunk below 50% since, largely because of a sluggish economy.

In an interview broadcast on Tuesday, Correa said he was prepared to nationalise foreign oil operations if companies do not sign new contracts favoring the government.

Freddy Ehlers, former secretary general of the Andean Community, CAN, also resigned on Tuesday. Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said Ehlers maybe destined to occupy the Tourism Ministry.

Published: 20 April 2010 19:22 GMT | Last updated: 21 April 2010 00:32 GMT