Petroleum-Derived Products: What We Get from Black Gold

by Rafael Garcia · November 10, 2025

Petroleum-Derived Products: What We Get from Black Gold 🛢️

Did you know that many everyday objects — from a printer to a plastic bottle — are made from petroleum derivatives?
Petroleum is one of the most versatile and essential raw materials of the modern world.
Our dependence on it is so deep that its extraction and control have often been at the center of global conflicts and wars.

Examples of petroleum-derived products such as plastics, fuels, and asphalt

⚙️ How Is Petroleum Extracted and Refined?

Petroleum is extracted from oil wells and transported to refineries, where it is separated and transformed into numerous products through complex chemical processes.
It yields two main types of products:

🛢️ Energy products: such as gasoline, diesel, gas, and kerosene — all used to generate power and movement.
🏭 Industrial and domestic products: materials, plastics, and compounds used in the manufacturing of thousands of everyday items.

🧰 Main Petroleum-Derived Products

Here are some of the most common products obtained from petroleum:

1️⃣ Gasoline and fuels.
Used in cars, airplanes, and ships, they are the primary energy source of modern industrial society.

2️⃣ Lubricants.
Oils that reduce friction in engines and machinery, ensuring smooth operation.

3️⃣ Asphalt.
An essential material for building roads and highways, obtained by mixing petroleum-based bitumen with gravel and aggregates.

4️⃣ Waxes and paraffins.
Used in candles, floor waxes, varnishes, food packaging, and cosmetics such as petroleum jelly.

5️⃣ PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride).
A plastic material widely used in construction: pipes, electrical cables, ducts, shower curtains, and tablecloths.

6️⃣ Paints and varnishes.
Petroleum provides the chemical base for a wide variety of coatings and synthetic pigments.

7️⃣ Tires.
Made from synthetic rubber and other petroleum-based compounds, providing strength and flexibility.

8️⃣ Detergents and cleaning products.
Many surfactants used in detergents and soaps are derived from hydrocarbon-based chemical processes.

Plastic and other petroleum-derived materials

9️⃣ Everyday plastics.
From bottles and packaging to toys, furniture, textiles, and electronic devices.

🔟 Waterproofing materials.
Used for roofs, walls, and insulation systems due to their ability to repel water and provide durability.

🌍 A Hard Dependence to Break

Over 50% of the products around us are linked in some way to petroleum.
Although more sustainable alternatives such as bioplastics and recycled materials are being developed, our reliance on so-called black gold remains extremely high in modern society.