Oil Extractor

The Oil Extractor is a resource extractor block that harvests oil from specific ground tiles. It was introduced early in development and initially could be placed anywhere, but since version 6.0 it can only be placed on Salt, Sand Floor (including Darksand), and Shale tiles. Placement requires that the extractor actually sit on one of those tile types; it cannot be placed on oil tiles or on any tile that is not one of the allowed types.

Tile affinities determine per-tile yield. In version 6.0 Salt gives 30% efficiency, Sand Floor 70%, Shale 100%, and Darksand 150%. Subsequent updates changed per-tile efficiencies and maximum output: version 7.0 raised health (360 → 430) and increased shale efficiency per tile (11.1% → 17.7%), which raised the maximum per-extractor output at full shale coverage from 15 to 24 oil/sec. Version 8.0 further raised shale efficiency per tile (17.7% → 22%), increasing the extractor’s maximum output at full shale coverage to 30 oil/sec. Oil Extractors cannot extract oil from any other tiles and cannot be placed where none of the allowed tiles are present.

Practical deployment notes and throughput relationships:

• Avoid placing Oil Extractors on Salt tiles when possible. Salt has low yield (30% efficiency) and also reduces the effectiveness of Shallow Water Extractors used to supply Oil Extractors where surface water is unavailable.
• On Shale tiles at full coverage, a single Oil Extractor can produce up to 30 oil/sec as of version 8.0. In version 7.0 a single extractor at full shale coverage produced 24 oil/sec.
• Use these rough supply relationships (from in-game tests and community tips):
  • As of version 8.0, one Oil Extractor (full shale coverage) can evenly supply either 2 Plastanium Compressors or 5 Coal Centrifuges (30/s).
  • In version 7.0, with full shale coverage: 2 Oil Extractors produce 48/s total, enough for 2 Plastanium Compressors (30/s) and 3 Coal Centrifuges (18/s); three Oil Extractors (72/s) can support 4 Compressors (60/s) and 2 Centrifuges (12/s).
  • On Darksand, 2 Oil Extractors produce enough oil for 3 Plastanium Compressors; on light sand the ratio is reversed (3 extractors for 2 compressors), reflecting differing per-tile efficiency.
• When sand is not naturally available, sand can be produced from Pulverizers running on scrap; two Pulverizers can produce enough sand for three Oil Extractors. Boosted Pneumatic Drills supply sand at a rate that matches these extractor needs (rough ratios: 2 drills per 3 extractors for full coverage on sand).
• For coal production on Darksand, four Oil Extractors with full coverage (36 tiles footprint at full coverage) generate enough oil to run 15 Coal Centrifuges (about 30 coal/sec), a throughput comparable to dozens of boosted drills mining coal tiles.

Design and campaign notes:

• Darksand affinity was added in version 6.0 and was inspired by a community suggestion relating to oil-rich dark sands.
• The Oil Extractor is categorized among the Serpulo/Erekir extractor family (depending on map) as the dedicated oil-mining extractor; consult tile-specific extraction rate tables when planning large-scale refineries or compressor chains.