Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has ordered the country’s oil companies to issue extraction licenses in oil-rich Essequibo, a region in neighboring Guyana—increasing tensions between the two countries and reigniting a longstanding territory dispute. The news comes after more than 95% of Venezuelan voters approved a referendum claiming ownership over land—which makes up more than two-thirds of Guyana— on Sunday, with plans to create a new state in the region, though some reports say that voters largely shunned the vote.