Petroleum (noun)

1. A thick, flammable, yellow-to-black mixture of gaseous, liquid, and solid hydrocarbons that occurs naturally beneath the Earth's surface and is used as a source of fuel and raw materials.
2. A naturally occurring flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface and are recovered mostly by drilling.

Origin:

From new latin petroleum, from latin petra ("rock") + oleum ("oil"). the word was first used in the early 19th century.

Examples:

1. The country is rich in petroleum resources and exports a large amount of oil.
2. The drilling platform was built to extract petroleum from the deep sea.
3. Petroleum is a major source of energy and is used to produce gasoline, diesel fuel and other products.
4. The pipeline was constructed to transport petroleum from the oil fields to the refineries.
5. The company specializes in exploration and production of petroleum.