Cryptic crossword clue
Oilmen regularly discover short form of hydrocarbon

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word OLEFIN

I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
O
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The straight part
We know that "form of hydrocarbon" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case form of hydrocarbon = olefin.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does OLEFIN mean?

OLEFIN noun
  1. Any of a class of unsaturated open-chain hydrocarbons such as ethylene; an alkene with only one carbon-carbon double bond.

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