If you’ve ever tried to craft high-tier medicine, electric generators, or explosive ammo in Palworld, you know oil is one of the most infuriating mid-game resources to track down for the first time. I wasted three full in-game days running around random coastal areas chasing rare drop Pals before I found consistent, low-effort ways to stock up. This guide breaks down exactly how to get oil in Palworld no matter your level, no unnecessary detours or overcomplicated tricks required.
How to Get Oil in Palworld: Early-Game Spots for Level 10+ Players
You don’t need to grind to level 25 or trek into the dangerous desert biome to get your first batch of oil, that’s one of the most common myths new players fall for. The first accessible oil spots are dark, sticky puddles on the western shore of the starting island, just south of the small ruined fort between the first fast travel point and the Rayne Syndicate beginner tower.
All you need to harvest these seeps is a stone pickaxe or better, though an iron pickaxe will cut your harvest time in half. Each seep gives 3-5 units of oil per hit, and respawns every 7 in-game minutes, so you can loop the 5 seeps in that small area to get 50+ oil in 10 minutes of real time. You don’t need to venture into the dangerous desert biome to get your first batch of oil, so don’t waste time trying to sneak past level 30 desert Pals before you’re geared up for it.
Wear heat-resistant armor if you plan to farm seeps for more than 10 minutes, too. The oil puddles emit low levels of constant heat damage that adds up fast if you’re not paying attention. I lost half my health to this hidden damage on my first farm run, and had to run back to base to heal before I could even store my haul.
Mid-Game Oil Farming: Cut Grinding Time by 70% With Pals
Once you hit level 20 and have a basic base set up, you don’t have to run around hitting seeps manually anymore. There are two low-effort methods to get consistent oil supplies without grinding, and both require way less work than manual farming.
First, you can farm Pals that drop oil as a loot item when defeated or captured. Relaxaurus is the best mid-game Pal to farm for oil, because they spawn in groups of 3-5 in the wetlands west of the starting island, are only level 15-20, and drop 2-4 oil per kill. You can loop the wetland spawn points in 5 minutes, and walk away with 30+ oil per run plus extra Pal experience for your team.
Second, once you unlock the oil extractor blueprint at level 25, you can set up passive oil production at your base. You just need to place the extractor on top of a large oil seep, assign a Pal with mining suitability to it, and it will produce oil nonstop while you do other tasks. The materials you need to build your first oil extractor are:
- 30x Ingot (smelted from iron ore in a primitive furnace)
- 15x Wood (collected from any trees around your base)
- 10x Cement (crafted from stone, bone, and clay at a workbench)
- 5x Circuit Board (looted from low-level Rayne Syndicate outposts or crafted at a high-tier workbench)
Prioritize Pals with mining work suitability level 2 or higher for your extractors, they work 30% faster than Pals with only level 1 mining skill. I use Digtoise for my mid-game extractors, and they produce enough oil for all my crafting needs without any extra input from me.
Late-Game Automated Oil Production for Mass Crafting
Once you hit level 40 and have gear strong enough to survive the desert biome, you can scale your oil production to hundreds of units per hour with zero ongoing work. The desert has dozens of large, high-yield oil seeps that produce twice as much oil as the small seeps on the starting island, and you can build multiple extractors on each large seep.
You can build up to 4 oil extractors on a single large desert seep if you space them correctly, which gives you 4x the passive production of a mid-game extractor setup. Assign level 3 mining Pals like Astegon or Anubis to these extractors, and they’ll work even faster, producing up to 120 oil per hour per seep.
Make sure you build level 3 defense turrets around your desert oil base, too. The desert is full of aggressive high-level Pals that will attack your extractors if you don’t have protection. I lost two fully upgraded extractors to a rampaging Blazamut on my first desert base build, and it cost me almost 2 hours of resources to replace them. Also, place a large storage chest right next to your extractors so oil doesn’t despawn if you’re away from the base for several in-game days.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Farming Oil in Palworld
After three full playthroughs, I’ve seen every possible mistake players make when trying to farm oil, and most of them are completely avoidable if you know what to watch for. These are the top errors to skip to save yourself time and frustration.
First, don’t destroy oil seeps to make space for base buildings. Once you destroy a seep, it never respawns, and you’ll lose that permanent source of oil forever. I made this mistake on my first base build, and had to move my entire base 100 meters away to get access to seeps again.
Second, don’t try to build desert extractors before level 35, even if you see people online talking about how good the seeps are. The desert is full of level 30+ Pals that can one-shot low-level players and destroy unprotected buildings in seconds, so you’ll just waste resources on extractors that get destroyed minutes after you build them.
Always keep a minimum stock of 100 oil in your base storage for emergency repairs and crafting. Running out of oil mid-build for an electric generator or rocket launcher is one of the most annoying delays in the game, and it’s completely avoidable if you keep a small stockpile on hand at all times.
At the end of the day, figuring out how to get oil in Palworld doesn’t have to be a confusing, time-consuming chore, as long as you pick the method that matches your current level and gear. Start with the small seeps on the starting island when you’re new, move to passive extractors once you unlock them, and scale up to desert production when you’re strong enough to handle the area. I’ve used all these methods across three full playthroughs, and they work every time, no fancy glitches or exploits needed. If you follow these tips, you’ll have more oil than you know what to do with in no time.