Mazut may be used for heating houses in countries of the Far East that do not have the facilities to blend or break it down into more conventional petro-chemicals. Furnaces that burn mazut are commonly called "waste oil" heaters or "waste oil" furnaces.

For shipment purposes, this product has a high viscosity which drastically affect whether it is able to be pumped, shipping has unique requirements. Mazut is much like Number 6 Oil, and is part of the products left over after gasoline and lighter components are evaporated from the crude oil.

Very Low Sulfur mazut is generally made from the lowest sulfur crude feedstocks.