Oil Extraction Not Working? Pipe Head Fixes in Ore Factory Squad
Check the cleaned reserve, Pipe Head, continuous pipe run, power state, tanker capacity, and v1.1.1 hotfix boundary before rebuilding your oil route.
Quick answer
If oil extraction is not working, check this order: the reserve was cleaned, the Pipe Head reaches that reserve through a continuous pipe run, the equipment is turned on, the Tanker can accept oil, and the reserve is not empty. Update to v1.1.1 before treating an on and off issue or a full-tanker state as a fresh mystery.
Fast checklist
- Return to the reserve and confirm it was cleaned with the Jackhammer.
- Trace the pipe from the Pipe Head to the reserve without assuming a near-looking segment is connected.
- Read the current turn-on or turn-off state, then change only that one condition.
- Check whether the Tanker is full before waiting for more oil.
- Read the reserve feedback. An empty reserve needs a new extraction plan, not more pipe changes.
- If you are on an older build, update to v1.1.1 and repeat the small test.
The pipe will not extend or extraction does not start
A failed placement attempt is a symptom, not proof of one global bug. Return to the last known connected segment, make a shorter controlled run, and verify the reserve side before redesigning the route. The official notes confirm modular pipes and a Pipe Head, but they do not publish a universal pipe length or every terrain restriction.
Do not use copied tunnel coordinates as a substitute for a continuous local check. If you have not found and cleaned the reserve yet, first use Radar Mode and Oil Reserves.
It says on but no oil moves
Separate the source from the destination. If the reserve is empty, the source is the limit. If the Tanker is full, the destination is the limit. If neither is true, test the Pipe Head and one Tanker before adding the Oil Tank or processing machines. v1.1.1 fixes Oil Pipe on and off behavior and stops a Pipe Head supplying a full tanker, so a small retest after updating is more useful than rebuilding all later stages.
Continue after extraction works
Use the Tanker Truck and Oil Tank transfer guide for the next handoff. If the problem begins only after the factory tank, open the Oil Refinery and Oil Processor guide. The common troubleshooting hub covers unrelated save, belt, robot, vehicle, and co-op symptoms.
Sources
The official Masters of Oil announcement is the source for the reserve, Pipe Head, and modular-pipe feature boundary. The official v1.1.1 hotfix is the source for the pipe-state, full-tanker, and reserve-feedback fixes.