I compound coal ore with saltpeter or copper ore to get coal.
Then the results with copper ore from NPC in Kelan till I get coal.
It helps if you can have at least 2 characters or more collecting coal ore.

Tar: Go to Bangkok
Buy coconuts and put thru centrifuge to get the coconut oil.
Then compound the coconut oil with Lauan wood to get tar, naphtha, heavy oil, etc.
Keep compounding result with Lauan wood till you get what you want.

My alchemy level is primary 9.31 and I get lots of tar and naphtha doing this.