Myanmar’s small-scale oil prospectors are coming under fire from all sides as rebels and the military battle to capture a cottage industry increasingly lucrative amidst the Middle East energy shock. The country imports 90 percent of its fuel oil, official figures show, making it particularly vulnerable to supply issues caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran. But the central region of Magway hosts a hardscrabble industry of domestic prospectors manning grimy derricks that squelch up crude oil in humble quantities.
