Explore the intricate world of oil and petroleum chemistry with this comprehensive guide from “The bookish owl”. This essential text delves into everything from heavy fuel oils and crude oils to the latest research on asphaltenes. Discover recent analytical methods, identify and describe newly found chemical groups within oils, and gain a deeper understanding of petroleum composition. Highlights include updated oil fingerprinting techniques, forensic applications of mass spectrometry for environmental samples, detailed data on vanadium and nickel content in heavy oils, and cutting-edge molecular imaging of asphaltenes using AFM and STM. The book also addresses asphaltene behavior in reservoirs with a modified polymer solution theory and explores the geochemical characterization of oils from major Chinese basins, including an update on biomarkers and mass spectrometry techniques.