There is an increasing dependence on fossil fuels in the twenty-first century. However, the production, transportation and storage of fossil fuels can generate a variety of problems. Oil releases, whether anthropogenic or natural, create threats to all living organisms. Bioremediation is emerging as a promising technology for treating these types of contamination. Bioremediation uses microorganisms to degrade contaminants to make them less hazardous. When dealing with petroleum hydrocarbons, bioremediation tends to be very successful. However, oil contamination in soil is a complicated problem. There are many factors that come into play when trying to treat multiple contaminated sites. Soil type, regional climate, and types of native microorganisms are relevant factors to name a few. So, bioremediation is a very multi-step process and no two places are the same. Due to technological advances, bioremediation is becoming a procedure that can be successfully applied to clean large quantities of contaminated oil. Composition of Crude Oil Petroleum hydrocarbons are complex chemicals and are generally considered crude oil. They also include lighter hydrocarbons that can be liquid or gaseous, such as methane, hexane, or propane. This is an important consideration when thinking about bioremediation because the type of chemical compound influences how it can be treated. A hydrocarbon is essentially a chain of carbon and hydrogen molecules. There are 3 types of hydrocarbons in crude oil: Parrafins, Aromatics, Cycloalkanes (Balba 1998). Different hydrocarbons have different properties that affect how they can be processed. Paraffins or alkanes are saturated hydrocarbons. This means that for every carbon half of the paper is emitted at each polluted site. Each waste has unique characteristics, therefore it has distinctive requirements. Furthermore, in some cases the microbes produce compounds that are more toxic than the initial contamination. This is why bioremediation has its limitations and is not the ultimate solution for all contamination. Petroleum hydrocarbons have always been deposited naturally in the environment. Therefore, there are huge varieties of beneficial bacteria that can remedy the contamination. The focus of effective remediation is based on providing nutritious environments for bacteria. When certain variables are controlled, complete degradation of hydrocarbons can be achieved. However, in real-life situations, contamination sites are generally suboptimal for bacteria. Over time, more oil-degrading bacteria will be discovered and effective cleanup will be easier to accomplish.