Firelogs giving off oils when burned?

Those logs are just nasty, with a waxy, chemical smell pretty much part for the course. One thing you can do is burn one in conjunction with a couple of nice, dry real wood logs. The extra heat will help draw more of the nastiness out through the chimney. Also be careful not to burn ONLY fake logs, as they tend to leave a buildup in the chimney that can lead to chimney fire. At least every few fires use real logs to make it good and hot.