The work is conditioned by the need to study the concentrations of microcomponents of hydrocarbon raw materials, which makes it possible to consider oil and its derivatives as valuable organomineral raw materials, as well as to solve a number of fundamental problems such as the origin of metals in oil, oil itself, and a number of others. To date, more than 70 different elements have been found in oil, including metals, the concentrations of which change very widely: from traces to hundreds of grams per ton of oil, which became possible as a result of the development of analytical methods. The increased content of trace elements is usually characteristic of highly viscous heavy oils and natural bitumen. Thus, significant amounts of vanadium, titanium, and a number of other metals are contained in oil, which may allow expanding their mineral resource base in the near future. Vanadium and nickel will probably play the most prominent role, as technologies for extracting them from oil already exist. On the other hand, the presence of these metals in oil, petroleum products, natural bitumen, asphaltites, and other naphthoid products greatly complicates the refining processes. It should also be noted that many forms of metals contained in oil, oil waste, and petroleum products, primarily vanadium, pose a serious environmental hazard. Metal compounds are toxic, they can affect the respiratory, digestive, circulatory and nervous systems, as well as cause inflammatory and allergic skin diseases. In this regard, the concentrations and distribution of metals in the oil fields of the Orenburg region of the Volga-Ural oil and gas province were studied. As a result of the conducted research, additional data was obtained on the content of a number of metals in the oils of the Buzuluk depression deposits—copper, lead, chromium, titanium, molybdenum, zirconium, vanadium, nickel, cobalt, gold, silver, palladium, and platinum. It has been established that the oil from the Orenburg deposits is enriched with a number of metals, such as titanium, vanadium, and zirconium. The age levels differ in the nature of the accumulation and distribution of the studied metals. Comparatively high concentrations of metals in oil are found in the deposits of the lower and middle carboniferous.
