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I think I'm also getting use to the smell, since I'm noticing it much less. Maybe it seemed very pronounced simply because I was away from the apartment for a number of days.
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If the fridge was only started when you moved into this apartment, it might just be food spills in the fridge caused by previous tenants. I find that in my own apartment block I have to keep the fridges running even when the apartments are empty between tenants to prevent the fridge from smelling up the apartment. Once the fridge cools down, bacterial action in the fridge slows down immensely, and the fridge no longer smells.
Maybe try turning the fridge off for a week or two, and see if the smell comes back with a vengence.
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I'm not dismissing the possibility that maybe all machinery normally has some trace residue of oil, and I might be one of those people who are very sensitive to that. If that's the case, perhaps acclimatization solves the problem in cases where it is faint enough.
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For something to smell, it has to get into the air. Oil, being a long chained hydrocarbon molecule, is simply too large to evaporate. You can smell a refinery because of all the lighter hydrocarbons that do evaporate, but you cannot smell anything that doesn't evaporate. You can't smell a candle, for example, with it's super long parrafin chains.
I'm thinking if it gets below zero in winter where you live, you can keep your perishable food in the trunk of your car. Maybe then unplug your fridge and leave the fridge and freezer doors open. Then see if that same smell comes back really strong. If it does, it ain't oil, it's bacteria feeding and multiplying.
Anyhow, G'Luck with this.