Ecuador's exports remain suspended but production has risen as the army took control of oil fields that had been under siege, allowing workers to repair damage and some resume pumping.

Ecuador is the second-largest South American supplier of oil to the United States after Venezuela and its crisis helped push US crude oil futures up $2 to more than $65 a barrel on Friday. Prices held steady above $65 a barrel on Monday.

Output by state oil firm Petroecuador, which has suspended exports since Thursday, totaled 70,000 barrels per day on Monday, compared to Saturday's 33,167 bpd but well under the 201,000 bpd level before the attacks began.

Ecuadorean Energy Minister Ivan Rodriguez told local television that some oil wells may have been permanently damaged by the attacks and may be unable to return to normal activity.

"The preliminary estimate was for normal production to return in November but that will depend on what we find at the wells," he said.

Protest leaders, many of whom are elected officials from the oil-producing areas, sat down with government officials at a national police compound in Quito on Monday as dozens of their sign-carrying supporters gathered outside.

PROTESTERS TO MEET OIL EXECS

The protest leaders also planned to meet later in the day with state oil company Petroecuador and private petroleum firms operating in Ecuador.

"The government wants to hear the complaints and then there will be a meeting that includes the oil companies," said Diego Espinosa, assistant to the prefect of Pichincha province who is mediating the conflict.

The protests have been the biggest challenge to Ecuadorean President Alfredo Palacio since he was appointed in April after Congress fired President Lucio Gutierrez for meddling with the Supreme Court. The government has accused Gutierrez, who is in exile in Peru, of being behind the unrest.

The government released some of the protesters from prison on Saturday after they agreed to suspend the violence and start talks. About 20 of them remain jailed in the eastern provinces of Sucumbios and Orellana where the disturbances took place, pending the outcome of the negotiations, the army said.

Protest leaders warned that members of their group remain on alert in the region and are prepared to renew attacks if negotiations fail.

The protesters also want the government to renegotiate contracts with Occidental Petroleum Corp., Petrobras and EnCana Corp. to increase state participation.

Venezuela will lend Ecuador oil cost-free to cover exports, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday without specifying the volume of the loan.

Rodriguez said he would lead a delegation of Ecuadorean officials to Caracas on Tuesday to discuss the loan.

Ecuador, which is South America's fifth-largest crude oil producer, also plans to import fuel for domestic use and seek a $400 million loan from the Latin American Reserve Fund to avoid balance-of-payment problems from the oil stoppages.

Fitch Ratings agency said on Monday that the oil production interruptions may affect the country's credit rating.