The wettability of hygroscopic magnesium carbonate has been modified to develop a superhydrophobic and oleophilic sorbent for oil spill clean-ups via a simple chemical process using palmitic acid. The prepared material was characterized using X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Wettability test infers that the sorbent has a static water contact angle of 154 +/- 1 degrees, thereby indicating its superhydrophobic character. The sorbent was capable of scavenging oil for about three times its weight, as determined from oil sorption studies, carried out using the sorbent on model oil-water mixture. Interestingly, the chemically modified sorbent has high selectivity, buoyancy, and rate of uptake of oil. Further, the reusability studies confirm the repeatable usage of the sorbent and its efficacy in oil spill remediation. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.