Magway Region
Myanmar's Dry Zone oil region with petroleum extraction facing post-coup resistance in agricultural heartland.
Magway Region sits in Myanmar's Dry Zone—the arid central plains where oil and natural gas production concentrated before the 2021 coup. The region historically provided much of Myanmar's petroleum output while farmers practiced dry-zone agriculture.
Oil and gas extraction at fields near Yenangyaung provided energy resources and government revenue. Agriculture focused on crops suited to low rainfall—sesame, groundnuts, and cotton. The combination of extractive industry and agriculture created a mixed economy.
Following the coup, Magway saw significant resistance activity. PDF units formed across the region; rural populations supported the opposition despite military reprisals. Fighting disrupted both agricultural and petroleum production. The military maintained presence at oil facilities while facing guerrilla resistance.
The biological pattern is resource-site conflict: Magway's petroleum assets make it strategically valuable, concentrating military effort to maintain control of extraction infrastructure.