Myanmar's small-scale oil prospectors are increasingly caught in the crossfire as rebel forces and the military battle for control of a cottage industry that has become more lucrative amid the energy shock triggered by the US-Israeli war on Iran.
"As long as we work here, bad luck can kill us," said Htun Aung, a worker at an artisanal oil well in Myanmar's arid heartland.
"But if the reality of death is hard to face, then making a living is even harder," said the 52-year-old, who spoke under a pseudonym for security reasons.
Myanmar imports 90% of its fuel oil, according to official figures, leaving it particularly vulnerable to supply disruptions linked to the US-Israeli war on Iran.
But the central region of Magway is home to a network of small-scale domestic oil prospectors who operate crude-producing wells using makeshift, grime-covered derricks.
The area has earned the nickname "Anyar Dubai", a reference to the oil-rich emirate, despite workers such as Htun Aung earning just $50 a week while spending their days drenched in foul-smelling crude runoff.
With petrol prices in Myanmar nearly doubling since late February, the underground "black gold" has become an increasingly valuable prize in the conflict.
"We just want to live in peace," Htun Aung said. "But now they strike from one side and the others strike from the other -- they keep attacking each other."
"We've had to flee three, four, five times already," he added. "We run here, we run there. We fill up our motorbikes with fuel and run again."
Pro-democracy rebel groups allied against the military say they have controlled oil fields in Myaing township, Magway, since 2023, the third year of a nationwide civil war triggered by the 2021 military coup.
The rebels patrol the dusty territory along a western bend of the Irrawaddy River in loosely organised columns, carrying rocket-propelled grenades, wearing flak jackets and carrying tote bags while moving in flip-flops.
Air and drone strikes in Myaing this year have already exceeded the total recorded in 2025, according to conflict monitor ACLED, which estimates that more than 100,000 people have died since the coup.
Rebels take shelter in foxholes camouflaged among thousands of oil wells, which have been dug through an unregulated practice dating back centuries.
Engine winches run around the clock, lowering pipes dozens of metres into boreholes before pulling them back up with crude oil slurry.
Prospectors pay landowners up to $3,500 to lease drilling sites, one veteran worker said, although there is no guarantee of finding oil.
Some wells produce only a trickle, while others yield substantial quantities of crude, which is stored in tarpaulin-lined pits and barrels before being transported to makeshift refineries and processed into petrol and diesel.
"Anyar Dubai" has been "going viral" for its abundant oil supply, said rebel spokesman Pyae Phyo Kyaw, as military-controlled areas across Myanmar have been rationing petrol.
He said the rebels had recently repelled military advances but acknowledged that they were facing heavy counter-attacks.
"We see it primarily as an attempt to destroy what has been a strong supply route and source of revenue for us," said the 35-year-old, who spoke under his real name.
Myanmar's military could not be reached for comment.
However, in September, a month-long military operation reportedly captured more than 130 oil wells in Myaing and another 735 in neighbouring Pakokku township.
Dozens of pro-democracy factions and ethnic minority armed groups are fighting the military following the 2021 coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
As the conflict drags on, all sides are seeking to finance their operations through taxes and trade involving natural resources, including gemstones, rare earth minerals, gold and teak.
Oil projects have generally not been a major focus of fighting. Large-scale operations remain under heavy military guard, while officially recorded production is relatively small by international standards, standing at around 6,000 barrels a day last year, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
However, artisanal oil fields have become attractive to rebel groups precisely because of their relatively modest scale, said Thomas Kean, senior Myanmar consultant at the International Crisis Group.
"Part of the reason why they're significant is because they're not globally significant," he said, explaining that the fields are small enough to operate below the radar but generate enough revenue to finance armed groups.
Kean said rising oil prices might not be directly driving the conflict, pointing instead to a broader military campaign to dislodge rebels from their strongholds in the country's heartland by cutting off their sources of revenue.
However, as the economic value of the oil fields increases, so do the stakes in controlling them.
"We're talking about millions of barrels a year coming out of these oil fields," he said.
"With global prices what they are, that's a significant amount of money."