Orellana
2023 referendum ordered ITT oil (57,000 bbl/day) to stop; government requested 5-year extension instead. Waorani territory spans 800,000 hectares. By 2026, Constitutional Court ruling determines whether citizen votes can stop extraction.
Ecuador's most consequential 2023 vote happened in Orellana—59% of citizens chose to leave ITT oil (57,000 bbl/day, 12% of national production) in the ground beneath Yasuni National Park. The Waorani people, whose 800,000-hectare territory spans three provinces, had spent fifty years watching "petroleum operations leave us in ruins" according to local leader German Ahua. The referendum victory should have ended drilling by August 2024.
Instead, the state fought back. President Noboa declared "internal armed conflict" to justify continued operations; a May 2024 executive decree created an implementation committee—without indigenous participation. By the August deadline, Petroecuador had shut exactly one of 247 wells (Ishpingo B-56), then requested a 5-year, 5-month extension. UN Special Rapporteur Marcos Orellana submitted an amicus brief calling the failure to comply a threat to "constitutional rule of law."
Orellana Province thus embodies Ecuador's extraction dilemma: oil revenue funds the government that promised to protect Yasuni. The ITT block produces $1.5B+ annually at current prices. Finding alternative revenue—or accepting reduced state capacity—is the unstated prerequisite for honoring the vote.
2026 trajectory: Constitutional Court rules on extension request. If denied, Petroecuador faces genuine decommissioning timeline. If granted, the referendum becomes symbolic rather than binding. Waorani and allied indigenous movements prepare both legal challenges and direct action. Orellana becomes global test case for post-fossil transition.