State of stagnation far from new in barrels of oil? (8)
I believe the answer is:
doldrums
'state of stagnation' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'in barrels of oil?' is the wordplay.
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'barrels' becomes 'drums' ('drum' can be a synonym of 'barrel').
'of oil?' becomes 'old' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'drums' placed around 'old' is 'DOLDRUMS'.
'far from new' is the link.
This may not be correct. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for doldrums that I've seen before include "Depressed state of mind" , "Belt of calm where winds from the northern and southern hemispheres come together" , "State of inactivity or stagnation" , "Tedious condition" , "Ocean regions near equator with little or no wind" .)