DSP Advanced Oil Processing Guide (v0.10) - Never Waste Refined Oil or Backup Your Factory Again
Master oil processing in Dyson Sphere Program. Complete guide to refined oil management, thermal cracking ratios, plastic production, organic crystal synthesis, and preventing hydrogen backup that kills your factory.
Oil processing is the most mis-understood production chain in DSP. Unlike mining, which produces exactly what you ask for, oil refining produces multiple outputs simultaneously. When one output backs up, the entire refinery stops. This guide covers every aspect of oil management.
Understanding Oil Ratios
Each Oil Refinery processing Crude Oil produces:
| Output | Quantity | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Refined Oil | 2 per 2s | Plastic, Organic Crystal |
| Hydrogen | 1 per 2s | Casimir Crystals, Fractionators |
The critical ratio is 2:1 in favor of Refined Oil. But most mid-game production consumes Hydrogen faster than Refined Oil, creating an imbalance. The Plasma Refining tech (X-Ray Cracking) lets you convert Refined Oil into more Hydrogen.
Crude oil
Refined oil
PlasticThe Three Oil Configurations
Configuration 1: Direct Refining (Early Game)
Build 3-4 refineries, pipe Refined Oil into storage tanks, and use the Hydrogen for early casimir or thermal power. This is the simplest setup and handles the first 10 hours of gameplay.
| Component | Count | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Oil Refinery | 3-4 | Feed from 2-3 oil seeps |
| Storage Tank (Oil) | 4 | Buffer for Refined Oil |
| Storage Tank (H2) | 2 | Buffer for Hydrogen |
| Thermal Generator | 4-6 | Burn excess Hydrogen |
**Hidden cost:** Storage tanks are nearly free (circuit boards only). Build 4-8 of them before you need them. Once oil backs up, adding storage requires dismantling full pipes.
Configuration 2: X-Ray Cracking (Mid Game)
X-Ray Cracking converts Refined Oil into Energetic Graphite and more Hydrogen:
| Recipe | Input | Output | When To Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| X-Ray Cracking | 1 Refined Oil + 1 Hydrogen | 1 Energetic Graphite + 2 Hydrogen | Need more hydrogen, have excess refined oil |
This creates a positive feedback loop: feed Hydrogen back into the cracker to produce more Hydrogen. One Mk.I belt of Refined Oil through 4 crackers produces enough Hydrogen for 2 Casimir Crystal assemblers.
Configuration 3: Thermal Cracking (Late Game)
When you have oil seeps on multiple planets, import Crude Oil and process it locally. Build 8+ refineries in a 2-row configuration with shared Hydrogen and Refined Oil bus lines.
| Stage | Refineries | Crackers | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | 4 | 2 | Plastic + H2 for mid-game |
| Stage 2 | 8 | 6 | Plastic + Organic Crystal + H2 for late-game |
| Stage 3 | 12 | 10 | Full production for 60 SPM factory |
Preventing Hydrogen Backup
Hydrogen backup is the fastest way to kill a DSP factory. Here is the cascade:
- Hydrogen consumption drops (Casimir assemblers full)
- Hydrogen fills all storage and pipes
- Oil refineries stall because Hydrogen output has nowhere to go
- Refined Oil stops flowing
- Plastic production stops
- Yellow science stops
- Processor production stops
- Everything that needs Processors stops
Organic Crystal Production
Organic Crystals can be synthesized or mined:
| Method | Source | Output Rate | Complexity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Synthesis | Refined Oil + Plastic | 2 per 3s per plant | Medium |
| Mining (Organic Planet) | Organic Crystal veins | ~6/min per miner | Very Low |
Organic
PlasticFor 60 SPM factories, the mining route is dramatically easier. Find an organic planet (usually within 2-3 light years), set up miners, and ship the crystals home. One vein of organic crystal with 6 miners produces more than 8 chemical plants.
For the full oil-to-science chain, see our DSP Green Science Deep Dive Guide.