UPDATE 1-OPEC to mull backing Venezuela in Exxon dispute

(Adds background on Venezuela-Exxon dispute)

QUITO, Feb 15 (Reuters) - OPEC will consider taking action at its next meeting to support Venezuela in its legal dispute against U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), Ecuador Oil Minister Galo Chiriboga told Reuters on Friday.

"Any actions that the OPEC could take will come from a legal analysis from member countries' lawyers," Chiriboga said in a telephone interview, without specifying possible actions. He said OPEC member lawyers will meet on March 4.

He added that Ecuador has no plans to follow Venezuela's threats to cut oil exports to the world's largest consumer, the United States.

Exxon, the biggest U.S. company, won court orders last week to freeze temporarily $12 billion in Venezuela's assets to seek compensation for the OPEC member takeover of a multibillion-dollar project during a nationalization crusade last year.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a staunch U.S. foe, has called the legal gambit an "imperialist" move orchestrated by Washington to undermine his socialist revolution. He has threatened to cut off oil exports to the United States in retaliation.

Ecuador, the smallest OPEC member, has launched an aggressive drive this year to increase state control over its key oil sector and is reworking current deals with foreign oil companies. (Reporting by Alonso Soto, editing by Matthew Lewis)