Petroleum

Petroleum, also known as oil, rock oil,, tar, or earth's blood, was a noxious and dangerous liquid mineral substance found in the Realms. Vaguely similar to common pitch and oils derived from plants and animals, it instead came from beneath the earth and was a mineral oil.
==Description==
Rock oil was a thick black liquid that gave off stinking, deadly fumes, and ignited and exploded very easily when exposed to flames and sparks, producing a watery-looking flame and thick, greasy, stinking smoke when burned. Petroleum was considered a tremendous hazard when encountered underground in mines, akin to finding raw magnesium.
==Availability==
Rock oil existed in deep underground deposits scattered across Faerûn, and included naturally formed bitumen. On occasion, these deposits welled up and made themselves known on the surface, forming tar pits or floating atop water, poisoning the ground and water around it. More commonly, the empty spaces of the Underdark interrupted the upward flow of the liquid, and so most revealed oil deposits were found in these deep caverns.
Extremely large deposits of pooled rock oil could be found in the Underdark beneath the Eastern Shaar, as well as south and east towards the Raurin desert and the Shining Lands.
Surface tar pits could be found across the Realms, and these surface deposits had a tendency to trap and drown animals like goats and sheep. They were especially common in the Shining Lands of Veldorn, Var, Ulgarth, and nearby Utter East, as well as in Chult, the Alimir Mountains, and isles of the Lake of Steam. Tar pits could also form due to great magical forces, such as in the Helmlands and in Myrloch Vale.
Ventdiver fish contained notable amounts of rock oil in their swim bladders, making them a useful source of the material.
==Usage==
Rock oil was mainly known for being a natural hazard thanks to its poisonous and flammable nature. The oil could be used as a fuel, but was rare compared to commonly-available fuels such as charcoal and animal or plant-based fuel oils. It could also be distilled and refined into other useful substances such as bitumen, and a variety known as gasoline was developed in Halruaa around the mid-14 century DR. A refined form of oil known as naphtha was a useful flammable agent, finding use in alchemist's fire, everburning oil, oil of fiery burning, flame throwers, and similar devices.
==Appendix==
===Appearances===
===External Links===
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===References===
Category:Substances
Category:Items
Category:Items from the Helmlands
Category:Items from the Stonelands
Category:Items from Cormyr
Category:Items from Westgate
Category:Items from Interior Faerûn
Category:Items from the Moonshae Isles
Category:Items from Calimshan
Category:Items from West Faerûn
Category:Items from Chult
Category:Items from Southwest Faerûn
Category:Items from Impiltur
Category:Items from Northeast Faerûn
Category:Items from the Shaar
Category:Items from Var
Category:Items from Ulgarth
Category:Items from Veldorn
Category:Items from the Utter East
Category:Items from the Shining Lands
Category:Items from Southeast Faerûn
Category:Items from Faerûn
Category:Items from Laerakond
Category:Items from Toril