Within the past month or so, Ecuador, Angola and Sudan have all signaled their interest in joining OPEC. But would they substantially boost the cartel's power in world energy markets? The combined production of these potential members equates to about 8% of OPEC's total output as of October 2006, or about 3% of global production, says J. Marshall Adkins, director of energy equity research for Raymond James & Associates in Houston. "Put another way, the three countries bring 2.44 million barrels per day of new oil output under OPEC's sphere of influence-a volume roughly equal to the daily production of Kuwait." In terms of oil reserves, the tally of what Ecuador, Angola and Sudan bring to the OPEC table is even less than their production. All in, the proved reserves of the three countries amount to 20.5 billion barrels, or only 2.3% of the cartel's current proved oil inventory. For more on this, see the January issue of Oil and Gas Investor. For a subscription, call 713-260-6441.