That could be - but my point is the article doesn't make it clear what kind of oil we're talking about, and as you note - the oil would come from the fats, so why is it excreting from the bones? IE: wouldn't all the potential oil have been removed when they prepared this specimen for display?

My bet is that largest bones here are just too big and find some recipient where to cook them was impossible.

But both whale fat and petrol oil are possible here. Maybe the whale died by a black tide and was floating some time before to be scooped by the ship. Fin whales type are fast cetaceans and crashing with a ship is not so usual like in other cetaceans. Not unless is an ill animal.

> my point is the article doesn't make it clear what kind of oil we're talking about,

The article clearly explains that it is oil form the bone marrow of the animal. Quoting the relevant part:

"Rocha explained that KOBO’s bone marrow is actually 'full of oil,' even though the whale has been dead for more than two decades.

'It’s seeping out through the pores of the bones,' Rocha said. 'The outer edges of the bone are a little more porous than human bones and [gravity is] just pulling the oil out.'"

Bone marrow contains fat cells.