Pyrolysis of oily sludges (OSs) is a promising technology that can achieve both petroleum recovery and harmless disposal. The wide variation of petroleum crude composition among oilfields together with regional differences in soil causes the diversity of OS and complicates their pyrolytic treatment. In this study, we prepared OS samples using five types of soils collected near oilfields located in the main regions of China and four crude oils with varying compositions of light and heavy fractions. In addition, six pure minerals that are key soil components were used for our pyrolysis studies. Using the estimated pyrolysis kinetics and product distribution data, the interaction between oil and soils during pyrolysis is proposed. The results demonstrate that mixtures of black soil (BS), saline soil (AS), and sediment (ST) with Bohai crude oil (BH) exhibit significantly lower pyrolysis activation energies by about 87.0, 80.3, and 83.3%, respectively, which compare with the theoretical activation energies. Similarly, mixtures of montmorillonite (MT), kaolin (KL), illite (IT), and hematite (MA) with BH exhibit lower activation energies by about 80.2, 86.1, 71.9, and 88.4%, respectively. Our results indicate that soils with high organic matter content can weaken the catalytic effect of soil minerals on crude oil pyrolysis. The reduction of activation energy mainly comes from the promotion of thermal cracking reactions (hydroreforming, ring-opening reaction, deoxidation reaction, etc.) by soil components and pure minerals. However, the addition of pure minerals also promotes dehydrogenation and cyclization as shown from the pyrolysis of mixtures of minerals with lubricating (LU) oil and BH. The pyrolytic gas originates from the transformation of oil compounds, which contains H 2 , CH 4 , C 2 −C 3 , and CO 2 with a maximum calorific value of 19.4 J/g for OS with 30 wt % oil content. Aluminosilicates with acidity play a critical role in catalytic pyrolysis, with K, Mg, Ca, and Fe further promoting catalytic behavior. On the other hand, SiO 2 exhibits a weak effect and even promotes polycondensation. Almost complete removal of TPHs after pyrolysis at 600 °C was attained to meet the national standards of the TPH residual lower than 3 wt ‰. Finally, we studied Ryegrass growth in soils amended with solid pyrolytic residues and found that the residues can effectively restore and promote soil fertility, especially for the more barren soils. These results outline possible directions for the final utilization of the OS pyrolytic solid residue as a landscaping restorative agent.