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Oil is one of the most consequential resources in NTM’s progression. Crude oil is the raw material for Diesel (powering generators and vehicles), Polymer (essential for electronics and machine components), Desh (the first major metal upgrade), Rubber and Bakelite (for advanced wiring and insulators), and a long chain of petrochemical products that extend all the way to TATB explosives and Saturnite alloy. The oil processing chain is divided into three major tiers — Basic (Oil 1), Advanced (Oil 2), and Vacuum (Oil 3) — each requiring new machines and unlocking a new set of products. This page covers the extraction machines, the refining machines, and the key fluid products produced at each stage.
Oil deposits are finite — they will eventually run dry. Bedrock oil deposits are infinite but require the Hydraulic Fracking Tower and Fracking Solution to access. Plan your extraction infrastructure with long-term supply in mind.

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Fluid Products at a Glance

Crude Oil

Raw extracted fluid. Must be heated in a Boiler and processed in an Oil Refinery before any useful products are obtained. Base material for the entire oil chain.

Heavy Oil

Byproduct of basic refining. Early on it is voided or burned. Later used to produce Oil Tar, Petroleum Coke, Engine Lubricant, and asphalt.

Light Oil

Primary early product from basic refining. Used to make Desh (critical mid-game alloy). Also used to produce Solid Fuel, Diesel, and Kerosene.

Naphtha

Basic refining product. Used to make early fuels: Gasoline, Diesel, and Solid Fuel. Later used to produce Solvent for Bedrock Ore Processing.

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Extraction Machines

The Oil Derrick is the cheapest way to extract Crude Oil from an underground oil deposit. When placed on the surface above an oil deposit and powered, it slowly drills down and pumps up both Crude Oil and Natural Gas.Status indicators in the GUI:
  • 🟢 Green indicator — Actively drilling or pumping oil
  • 🔴 Red indicator — Drill jammed, output tanks full, or no power
  • ❌ Crossed-out droplet — Drill has reached maximum depth with no oil present
The Derrick is a weaker version of the Pumpjack — it extracts at a lower rate and is less efficient. However, it is cheaper to build and is the correct first extraction machine.Power requirement: HE electricity (low demand).Finding oil deposits: Use an Oil Deposit Detector — it scans a small radius and notifies you when a deposit is directly below your feet. Deposits also appear as distinct ore blocks when mining underground; they should not be mined by hand.
The Pumpjack is a faster and more efficient alternative to the Derrick for extracting Crude Oil and Natural Gas from oil deposits. It is the upgrade you build once your base power supply is established and you need higher oil throughput.Status indicators are identical to the Derrick:
  • 🟢 Green — Drilling or pumping
  • 🔴 Red — Jammed, full, or unpowered
  • ❌ Crossed-out droplet — No oil at current depth
Power requirement: HE electricity (higher demand than the Derrick).
The Hydraulic Fracking Tower is the fastest and most efficient extraction method — but its true value lies in accessing bedrock oil deposits, which never deplete. Standard oil deposits are finite; bedrock oil is infinite.Using the Fracking Tower on a regular (non-bedrock) oil deposit works but is not recommended — the Tower’s power and resource cost makes it better suited for bedrock extraction.Requirements: Fracking Solution fluid input + large HE electricity supply (even for standard deposits).Locating bedrock oil: Bedrock deposits are marked on the surface by patches of oily dirt or oily sand. An Oil Deposit Detector cannot find bedrock oil — look for surface contamination instead.
Caution: May alter the landscape a little bit. The Fracking Tower performs hydraulic fracturing, which has environmental side effects in-world. Build in an area you are comfortable modifying.
Status indicators: Same green/red/crossed-out system as the Derrick and Pumpjack.

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Refining Machines

The Oil Refinery is the central refining machine for both Crude Oil and Cracked Oil. It has four fluid outputs and one solid output. Before processing, oil must be pre-heated in a Boiler — the Refinery requires hot oil as input, not raw crude.In Basic Oil Processing (Oil 1), the Refinery directly separates heated crude oil into its constituent fractions. In Advanced Oil Processing (Oil 2), it receives heated Cracked Oil from the Catalytic Cracking Tower instead.Power requirement: HE electricity.Key outputs (Basic Processing): Heavy Oil, Naphtha, Light Oil, Petroleum Gas — plus additional fractions separable by Fractioning Tower.
The Fractioning Tower takes one fluid input and splits it into exactly two output fluids. Right-click with a Fluid Identifier to set the input type. Multiple Fractioning Towers can be stacked vertically to combine their processing capacity — when stacked, the input type must be set on the lowest segment.Flow direction: Input oil travels upward through the tower; output fluids travel downward. Always connect pipes to the bottom segment of a stacked tower assembly.Segments can be separated using Fraction Tower Spacers if individual towers in a stack need to handle different fractions independently.Power requirement: None (passive fluid separation).Critical use: Extending the Refinery’s output variety. Without Fractioning Towers connected to the Refinery’s outputs, several products remain combined and cannot be used separately.
The Catalytic Cracking Tower is vital for Advanced Oil Processing (Oil 2). It converts Crude Oil (or many other petrochemicals) into Cracked Oil — a more processable feedstock for the Refinery. The tower requires Steam to operate, outputting Low-Pressure Steam as a byproduct that must be condensed and returned to the Boiler.Set the input fluid type by right-clicking with a Fluid Identifier.Power requirement: HE electricity + Steam fluid input.Setup: Crude Oil → Cracking Tower (+ Steam) → Cracked Oil → Boiler → RefineryKey outputs: Cracked Oil (primary), Petroleum Gas (ready-to-use byproduct), Low-Pressure Steam (must be condensed).Advanced products from cracked refining: Heating Oil, Cracked Diesel, Kerosene, Petroleum Gas, Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Unsaturated Hydrocarbons — unlocking Rubber, Bakelite, TNT, and C4.
The Coker Unit converts many types of oil into Petroleum Coke at varying efficiencies. It usually produces a liquid oil byproduct alongside the coke, which can be further processed through the cracked oil derivatives chain.The Coker Unit is considered “Oil 2.5” — it comes online alongside or shortly after the Catalytic Cracking Tower and extends the advanced processing chain.Power requirement: External Heat Source (TU via copper contact).Key outputs: Petroleum Coke (fuel and carbon source), oil byproduct (varies by input).
Petroleum Coke is a high-quality fuel for Blast Furnaces and Fireboxes, burning hotter than coal. Coker output can significantly improve your thermal energy budget once the Advanced Oil Processing line is established.
The Fluid Burner is an External Heat Source powered by flammable fluids, typically derivatives of crude oil (Diesel, Heating Oil, Kerosene, and similar). It must be turned on via the GUI button before it will operate.The flow rate can be adjusted with a screwdriver, ranging from 1 mB/t to 10 mB/t. Higher flow rates produce more heat but consume fuel faster.Power requirement: Flammable fluid input (no HE electricity).Best used for: Replacing solid-fuel Fireboxes once oil products are plentiful, supplying TU to Boilers or Steel Furnaces in automated refineries.
In all processing tiers, the Oil Refinery remains the primary output machine. In Vacuum Oil Processing (Oil 3), it is replaced by the Vacuum Refinery, which processes compressed crude oil (2 PU) into the highest-tier petrochemical products.The Vacuum Refinery requires Bismuth to construct, locking it behind RBMK reactor construction. Two Compressors in series are needed to bring crude oil to the required 2 PU pressure.Vacuum oil outputs: Heavy Heating Oil, Reformate, BTX, Sour Gas, Reformate Gas — enabling Hard Plastic, TATB, and Saturnite production.

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Step-by-Step Oil Processing Walkthrough

1

Locate an Oil Deposit

Craft an Oil Deposit Detector and walk the surface of your world. The detector scans a small radius and alerts you when an oil deposit is directly below. Deposits also appear as dark ore blocks underground during normal mining. Do not mine oil deposit blocks by hand.For infinite supply, look for patches of oily dirt or oily sand on the surface — these mark bedrock oil deposits accessible only by the Fracking Tower.
2

Set Up Extraction

Place an Oil Derrick (cheaper, slower) or Pumpjack (faster, more efficient) directly above the oil deposit. Connect HE power cables. The machine will begin drilling automatically. Connect fluid pipes from the output to a tank or directly to your processing setup.For bedrock oil: build the Hydraulic Fracking Tower and supply it with Fracking Solution (crafted in the Industrial Mixer) and substantial HE power.
3

Basic Refining (Oil 1) — Boiler + Refinery + Fractioning Tower

Connect your crude oil supply to a Boiler configured for crude oil (right-click with a Fluid Identifier). Heat the Boiler with a Firebox or Heating Oven. Pipe the resulting Hot Crude Oil into an Oil Refinery.Connect Fractioning Towers to the Refinery’s outputs and configure each for the target fraction. The key direct products are: Heavy Oil, Naphtha, Light Oil, Petroleum Gas.Immediate priorities from these products:
  • Petroleum Gas → Chemical Plant → Polymer (essential for electronics)
  • Light Oil → Chemical Plant → Desh (critical mid-game alloy)
  • Naphtha → Chemical Plant → Gasoline or Diesel for generators
  • Heavy Oil → Coker Unit → Petroleum Coke (high-quality fuel), or later processing chains
4

Advanced Refining (Oil 2) — Catalytic Cracking Tower

Build a Catalytic Cracking Tower and supply it with Crude Oil and Steam (from a Boiler loop). Connect a Condenser to handle the Low-Pressure Steam output and return water to the Boiler — this is a closed steam loop.The Cracking Tower outputs Cracked Oil and Petroleum Gas. Heat the Cracked Oil in a second Boiler and feed it into the Oil Refinery to separate advanced fractions: Cracked Diesel, Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Unsaturated Hydrocarbons, Kerosene.New products unlocked:
  • Unsaturated Hydrocarbons + Sulfur → Rubber (via Chemical Plant)
  • Aromatic Hydrocarbons → Bakelite, TNT
  • Unsaturated Hydrocarbons → C4
Also build the Coker Unit (Oil 2.5): route heavy oil byproducts into the Coker to produce Petroleum Coke — excellent blast furnace and firebox fuel.
5

Vacuum Refining (Oil 3) — Compressors + Vacuum Refinery

After constructing an RBMK reactor and obtaining Bismuth, build the Vacuum Refinery. Chain two Compressors in series to elevate Crude Oil from atmospheric pressure to 2 PU (one Compressor per PU step). Feed the compressed crude into the Vacuum Refinery.Connect Fractioning Towers to the Vacuum Refinery outputs as before.New products unlocked:
  • BTX → Hard Plastic (via Chemical Plant)
  • Sour Gas → TATB (explosive, used in nuclear weapons)
  • Reformate Gas → Saturnite alloy component, late-game welding
  • Reformate → High-power fuel blending stock
With Bismuth also available, unlock the Hydrotreater and Catalytic Reformer for Oil 3.5 processing paths: desulfurization, hydrogen-based cracked oil conversion, and reformate/aromatic production from lower-value feedstocks.

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Processing Tier Summary

TierKey MachineCore InputKey OutputsUnlocks
Oil 1 (Basic)Oil RefineryHot Crude OilHeavy Oil, Naphtha, Light Oil, Petroleum GasPolymer, Desh, Gasoline, Diesel
Oil 2 (Advanced)Catalytic Cracking TowerCrude Oil + SteamCracked Oil → Aromatic/Unsaturated HCsRubber, Bakelite, TNT, C4
Oil 2.5 (Coking)Coker UnitHeavy Oil byproductsPetroleum CokeHigh-quality solid fuel
Oil 3 (Vacuum)Vacuum Refinery2 PU Crude OilBTX, Sour Gas, Reformate GasHard Plastic, TATB, Saturnite
Oil 3.5 (Advanced Vacuum)Hydrotreater, Catalytic ReformerCracked/sour productsDesulfurized oil, Reformate, AromaticsExpanded fuel and materials chain
The standard copper Boiler will explode if its output is full while still receiving heat. Always connect output pipes before starting a Boiler, and consider upgrading to the Industrial Boiler for critical oil-heating applications. Destroyed Boilers cannot be repaired.

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