The official position of the Waorani leaders (NAWE, Amazonian Waorani Nationality of Ecuador) is to be against any kind of new exploitation within their territory and to ask for the retirement of the companies who are currently inside its borders. However, the majority of the Waorani leaders continue to sign agreements with the companies in order to gain immediate advantages, while the territory and traditional knowledge of the Waorani suffer in the long run. This problem has reached a point where, in some areas, entire communities have jobs as oil workers in most of the extraction areas.

In addition, the Brazilian oil company Petrobras is currently close to getting their license to operate within an area considered untouchable, where it has been proven that some of the last remaining isolated groups continue to live. These groups are the Tagaeri, the Taromenane and some Zaparoan bands. Living in a situation called voluntary isolation; these groups have portrayed their wishes to be left in peace on their territory, with no contact with the western world. In the management plan of the company Petrobras, it is said they will try to avoid any contact with these groups, however, no one knows how big the environmental and the social impacts will be for these people when the company begins operating there.

Several oil companies have extracted or continue to extract oil from the Waorani territory subsoil. Among them, TEXACO has probably been the worst in terms of environmental care. Pools full of oil wastes left by this oil company can still be found all over the Waorani territory (and other areas in Ecuador). These pools are plain holes in the earth where the wastes were poured. They are not insulated in anyway, and thus, the oil is permanently percolating through the subsoil, reaching the underground waterways and eventually the rivers. Moreover, when it rains these pools fill up and the oil pours over into the surrounding rivers.

Petroecuador, the oil company of the Ecuadorian government, still operates in the area. Its facilities are beyond doubt the worst among all the oil companies around the area, probably due to its limited monetary resources. This oil company has made several accidental oil spills which have reached the rivers, damaging the environment and causing harm to the Waorani people.

Repsol YPF is the company that operates using the best and most modern facilities. The contamination produced by this company is certainly lower than that caused by the others, and in some areas, the company is even cleaning old spills left by the companies that operated there before.  However, the social impact that Repsol has on the Waorani people is huge. They keep the Waorani people happy by appeasing their requests; in some communities they even provide pre-cooked food to every family. However, the long term effects of this relationship is contributing to an expansive loss of traditional knowledge to the point where, once the oil company finishes its work, it will be hard for the Waorani to survive, in both their own culture as well as in the western world culture.