Basic oil processing

Basic oil processing is the foundational oil-refining recipe that breaks Crude oil into the three primary petroleum fractions: Heavy oil, Light oil, and Petroleum gas. The recipe is identified internally as basic-oil-processing and is unlocked by the technology Oil processing. It is performed in an Oil refinery and provides the raw feedstocks that subsequent advanced refining and cracking recipes convert and refine into Lubricant, Solid fuel, plastic intermediates and other chemical products.

Basic oil processing is the starting point for any petrochemical setup: Petroleum gas is used directly in many chemical recipes and as a fuel; Light oil is the most efficient source for producing Solid fuel; Heavy oil is commonly cracked or converted into Lubricant or further refined into Light oil when needed.

• Basic details: recipe basic-oil-processing runs in an Oil refinery and consumes Crude oil to produce Heavy oil, Light oil and Petroleum gas. The technology prerequisite is Oil processing.
• Use the Circuit network to control fluid flow and recipe switching: wiring storage tanks and inserters to a Circuit network allows automated selection of which products to prioritize so the refinery output matches factory demand.
• If you route a Heavy oil pipe from an Oil refinery through a Chemical plant set to produce Lubricant before feeding other Chemical plants, that Chemical plant will consume Heavy oil to make Lubricant, effectively prioritizing Lubricant production over cracking or other uses.
• For fuel production, Solid fuel is produced most efficiently from Light oil; when Heavy oil is in excess it is better to crack Heavy oil into Light oil and then make Solid fuel, rather than converting Heavy oil directly into fuel.
• Basic oil processing is the prerequisite foundation for Advanced oil processing and the various cracking recipes (Heavy oil cracking to light oil, Light oil cracking to petroleum gas) as well as alternative inputs like Simple coal liquefaction and Coal liquefaction that feed into the same petroleum product network.