A major concern in environmental studies is the estimation of the impact of anthropogenic activities on natural systems. Organic compounds are among the more abundant and the more various pollutants. Because they can display significant adsorption capacities and thus transport other (non organic) pollutants, they should be carefully analyzed. The oil industry has developed advanced organic geochemical techniques in order to improve knowledge of the structure and evolution of natural organic matter. Most of the advanced techniques that are required for the characterization of organic compounds can be directly used in environmental studies. Three major problems regarding organic pollutant impacts on the environment must be addressed: (i) the characterization of the source of the organic pollutants, (ii) their migration and dispersion in water, soils and sediments and (iii) their stability during degradation processes such as biodegradation, oxidation, etc. Those problems require an approach similar to that frequently used in the petroleum field. In petroleum exploration, it is important to characterize the source rocks for oil, to study its migration and dispersion in the reservoir rock and to estimate the changes induced by different alterations. The aim of this paper is to present applications of oil exploration analytical techniques to environmental problems.