Shiekh Omar oilfield, shortly after its takeover by rebels fighting the Syrian government in Nov 2012.

Motorcycle is loaded with drums of diesel and transported to nearby villages to be sold. Cepu, Indonesia. 25/01/2011

Crude oil theft has become a common phenomena in Africa's most populous nation, Nigeria, which ranks seventh among oil-producing nations. The majority of citizens in the Niger Delta live on less than $1 per day, despite the fact that the country possesses vast natural resources and produces over 2 million barrel of crude oil daily.

The resulting widespread poverty has turned many toward criminality for income, particularly oil theft.

Zoin Ibegi in the oil-rich Niger Delta says, "Many of us live below one cent a day, despite being blessed with crude oil whereby forcing many of us into illegal refinery business because we can't continue in this poverty circle."

On daily basis, crude oil is emptied into the rivers, owing to low technical-know-how of these locals are not educated on the ecological repercussions of their actions.

The Niger Delta's Joint Task Force (JTF) is responsible for eradicating oil theft in the region. Though citizens see crude oil theft as an option as a result of an inability for them to get out of poverty in another way, the JTF believes that communities in the region have shielded the "thieves" and are perpetuating a culture of criminality.

Crude oil spilled to the ground in the illegal refinery camp in the Deibou community, along Nun river in the State of Bayelsa, Nigeria.

A boy hiding behind some drums, which are used to load refined oil at a river bank in Yenagoa, the capital of Niger's oil-rich state of Bayelsa.

A child has his bath in the Deibou community area of Bayelsa state near Nun river in the oil-rich Niger Delta. Thousands of people live on less than $1 per day, despite the fact that the Niger Delta ranks as the seventh-largest oil producing nation in the world.

A local man, Zoin Ibega, 47, poses for a portrait at Diebou community along the Nun river in Nigeria's oil rich state, Bayelsa.

Tula Ebiowei, 50, and his colleague work along the Nun River in Nigeria's oil-rich state of Bayelsa.

A young lady going to a community toilet by the river bank in the Deibou community in Nigeria's oil-rich state of Bayelsa.

A man stands on a wooden boat containing stolen crude oil that will be conveyed to a refinery camp, along Nun river in Bayelsa State.

A child walks towards some containers filled with stolen crude oil the Deibou community of Bayelsa State.

A hose used to pump water into the distilling equipment at the illegal refinery camp along the Nun River.

A man walking into his house in Ikebiri community in the Nigeria's oil state,Bayelsa.Thousand of people live below one usd per day despite being blessed with crude oil and ranks seventh large oil producing nation in the world.
Most locals emerge in illicit act of stealing the crude and refined it to break out of poverty circle and also destroying the eco-system with thousand of crude spilling into the rivers

Foot wear wore by the illegal refinery worker in the oil rich Niger Delta,where the locals live below poverty line despite being blessed with crude oil with over 2,000000 barrels on daily basis.

A cut-to-size drum fill with crude oil at an illegal refinery camp along the Nun river in the Nigeria oil rich state of Bayelsa. Thousand of people live below one usd per day despite being blessed with crude oil and ranks seventh large oil producing nation in the world.
Most locals emerge in illicit act of stealing the crude and refined it to break out of poverty circle and also destroying the eco-system with thousand of crude spilling into the rivers

Drums and distilling equipment used at the refinery camp by the oil thieves along Nun river, in the State of Bayelsa, Nigeria

A farmhand stands nearby the home-made oil refinery, made of a rusted tank and no
more than some tubes in Ras al Ain, Syria, April, 2013.

Abu Zakharia's sons handle dangerous tasks, such as igniting the fire fueled by distillery waste in Ras al Ain, Syria, April, 2013.

Abu Zakharia's sons work with their father as one stands by the oil refinery and the other collects the produced diesel in an oil barrel in Ras al Ain, Syria, April, 2013.

A fire rages under the boiler filled with crude oil. The intense heat vaporizes the oil, after which the vapor can be cooled back down to diesel or petrol.Ras al Ain, Syria, April, 2013. View the full collection here: http://transterramedia.com/collections/1279

A farmhand feeds the fire under the oil boiler with distillery waste, producing oppressive smoke that stings the eyes and mouth. Ras al Ain, Syria, April, 2013.

A farmhand waits as the produced diesel pours into containers in Ras al Ain, Syria, April, 2013.

Once the diesel is made, a farmhand observes it to make sure it's pure. Ras al Ain, Syria, April, 2013.

The freshly distilled diesel is poured into a barrel, after which it can be transported to the city and sold into the streets. Ras al Ain, Syria, April, 2013.

A worker wears a gas mask while working around the refinery due to the clouds of smoke produced in the process. Ras al Ain, Syria, April, 2013.

Photos by Jeffry Ruigendijk
For full text by Annabell Van den Berghe, click here: http://transterramedia.com/media/20137

Abu Zechariah and his two sons are farmers in the Kurdish town of Ras al-Ain that are among the many people throughout Syria who have decided to start privately refining crude oil as a way to make money. Trucks come from Ramalan to Ras al-Ain, where they then begin the process. Despite the danger of using rudimentary refinery equipment, for them, the pay-off is worth the risk.

Rival rebel groups and regime forces continue to battle for control of strategic oil and gas fields in the northeast and east of the country. Since the war began, the local demand for oil has increased dramatically because of the disruption in supply to the west, which has led to small, privately-owned refineries being built throughout Syria. Though profitable, this process of refining crude oil is unhealthy and highly volatile, with the chance of an explosion anytime during the process.

Abu Zecharia sells diesel and petrol per liter, and sometimes per half-liter, in Ras al Ain, Syria, April, 2013.

A boat driver, David Sowawi, 29, drives past an illegal refinery along Nun River that has just set ablaze by the Military Authority in the Niger Delta.

An illegal refinery worker, John Sowawi, pumps water into the distilling equipment that is used to refine the stolen crude oil along Nun River, in the rich in oil-state of Bayelsa, Nigeria.

A worker at an illegal refinery camp inspecting the refinery equipment as smokes emerge behind the drums, near river Nun in Nigeria's oil state of Bayelsa November 27, 2012.

50 year-old,Tula Ebiowei, pours water into the distilling equipment at the illegal refinery camp along the Nun river in the Nigeria's oil rich state of Bayelsa. Thousand of people live below one usd per day despite being blessed with crude oil and ranks seventh large oil producing nation in the world.
Most locals emerge in illicit act of stealing the crude and refined it to break out of poverty circle and also destroying the eco-system with thousand of crude spilling into the rivers.

Oil slick covers a lengthy parts of Nun river in Nigeria's oil state of Bayelsa. Both the oil campanies and the locals are guilty of spill occurring on daily bases polluting the whole eco-system where fish have moved for fresh water,also people have to moved to better their lives.

A pail containing a refined product at the illegal refinery camp along Nun River in the Nigeria's oil of state of Bayelsa.

An illegal refinery worker,John Tarila, fills a container with refined PMS product before shipping it out to end users along the River Nun in Nigeria's oil rich ,Bayelsa State. The locals say the make 10,000 monthly to break out of poverty circle.

Crude oil in a rainbow pattern on the Nun river in Southern Ijaw area,near river Nun in Nigeria's oil state of Bayelsa November 27, 2012.
The local people in Nigeria engage in a the illicit act known locally as 'oil bunkering'
hacking into pipelines to steal crude then refining it or selling it abroad.

50-year-old Tula Ebiowei, carries an empty oil container on his head to a place where it would be filled with refined product at an illegal refinery camp
along river Nun in Nigeria's oil state of Bayelsa November 27, 2012.

A man in a wooden boat carrying stolen crude oil along the Nun river in Nigeria's oil state, Bayelsa.The locals say the make 10,000 monthly to break out of poverty circle.

When you reach the large boulevard in Baku that is placed a long the Caspian Sea, you see families strolling around, vendors selling snacks and restaurants serving shish kebab; all of it bathed in soft yellow light. All in all it looks something out of a city fairytale.
The people you meet on the streets are extremely friendly and open to foreigners and walking around Baku you get a lot of curious looks and always a helping hand if you are lost.

According to Time Magazine and an independent economics site, budget.az, the government spent at least 38 million dollars promoting Azerbaijan in 2011. It ranges from passing out USB keys and commercials on TV about the country. The country’s leaders do a lot of work to hide the fact that the country has a very poor human rights record.

The desert outside Baku is scattered with oilfields. It is an unbelievable forest of metal and oil intertwined with people living in the middle of it all. As seen on the picture the oil is everywhere and the industry has an impact on the environment.
According to the U.S. Department of State:

”Azerbaijan is considered one of the most important spots in the world for oil exploration and development. Proven oil reserves in the Caspian Basin, which Azerbaijan shares with Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Iran, are comparable in size to North Sea reserves several decades ago.” The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, which opened in May 2005, is a part of the country’s significance.
The economy is tied up in natural gas and oil and is dependent on that. Much of the oil industry is subject to SOFAZ, which is the state oil fund. The fund manages all state revenues from gas and oil.
The country has had a boom in its economy fuelled by the oil and made it the fastest growing country in the world for a short while with its real GDP pushed up by 35 % in 2006 according to the World Bank.