In this paper, I offer reflections from a decade of research on the Chad-Cameroon Oil Pipeline. Social scientists have played crucial roles in unpacking the multifaceted dimensions of this mega-infrastructure project, have acted as consultants, mediators, researchers, and community advocates. Through a series of interviews conducted with social scientists based in Chad and Cameroon, my research focuses on encounters between communities and researchers. I focus in on the changing roles and reflections of social scientists engaged in various forms of inquiry along the pipeline route. I build on insights from people in rural communities along the pipeline, who offer invaluable insights into their perceptions of researchers, memories of previous engagements, and expectations regarding ethical research practices. How do people and/or communities (particularly—but not exclusively—those that are hyper-researched) respond to, strategically acquiesce, and/or counter pressures to participate in forms of research in their communities? Central to my inquiry is an interrogation of methodological reciprocity, exploring its conceptual underpinnings, practical potentials, and inherent weaknesses. What are the possibilities for anti-extractive research on extraction in and with African societies? I centre the possibilities and limitations of fostering reciprocal relationships, particularly within contexts marked by power differentials, historical legacies of exploitation, and often multiple and overlapping forms of extractivism.