You're standing there in front of your Fabricator, blueprints ready, heart set on that longneck rifle, but the machine is dead. It’s a classic ARK: Survival Evolved (and Ascended) moment. You need gas. You need it now. But how to get gasoline in ARK isn't just about clicking a button; it’s about understanding the weird, oily chemistry of the Island—or whatever map you’ve decided to call home today.
Gasoline is the literal lifeblood of the mid-to-late game. Without it, your Industrial Forge is just a giant metal paperweight. Your chemistry bench? Worthless. Even your electrical generator, the thing keeping your turrets humming and your meat from rotting, relies entirely on those little green cans. Honestly, if you aren't producing gas in bulk, you're basically playing a prehistoric version of The Sims without the cheat codes.
The Chemistry of the Refining Forge
Let’s get the basics out of the way first. To make gasoline, you need two things: Oil and Hide. It sounds simple, but the ratio is what trips people up. You need 6 units of Oil and 5 units of Hide. Throw them into a Refining Forge or an Industrial Forge. If you're using the basic Refining Forge, you'll also need a fuel source like wood or sparkpowder to get the fire going.
Wait about 30 seconds.
Boom. You’ve got 5 cans of gasoline.
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The Industrial Forge is a whole different beast. It’s huge. It’s expensive. But it’s fast. It processes 60 Oil and 50 Hide at once, churning out 50 Gasoline in the same 30-second window. If you're still using a line of ten small forges to fuel a massive base, you're wasting your time. Build the Industrial Forge as soon as you hit level 80. It's a game-changer.
Where the Heck is the Oil?
You can’t make gas without oil. On The Island, finding oil usually means one of two things: freezing your toes off in the snow biome or holding your breath underwater.
The snow biome is the most accessible spot for early-game players. Look for the big, black, craggy rocks near the shoreline in the northwest. They look greasy. They look like they don’t belong there. Hit them with a metal pick. If you have an Ankylosaurus, even better. Ankylo’s are the undisputed kings of oil harvesting. They get a much higher yield than any handheld tool ever could.
But maybe you hate the cold.
If you've got a Megalodon or a Basilosaurus, head to the ocean floor. You’ll see dark streams of bubbles rising from black rock nodes. That’s your payday. Just watch out for Cnidaria (those annoying jellyfish) and Mosasaurus. The ocean in ARK is a nightmare, but the oil down there is plentiful.
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The Passive Income Strategy: Dung Beetles and Oil Pumps
I hate manual labor. Most experienced players do. That’s why we use Dung Beetles.
Find these guys in caves. They’re passive tames—you just walk up to them and shove some feces (yes, poop) up their... well, you give it to them. Once tamed, set them to "enable wandering" inside a wooden cage or a small enclosure. Put more poop in their inventory. Over time, they convert that waste into Fertilizer and Oil. It’s not enough to run a massive industrial hub, but for a small base, it’s a steady trickle of resources for basically zero effort.
Then there’s Scorched Earth and Ragnarok.
If you're on these maps, find an Oil Vein. These look like cracked, oily spots on the ground. You can place an Oil Pump on them. It’s a "set it and forget it" situation. The pump will slowly accumulate oil in its inventory. You just have to fly by every few hours and empty it out. Honestly, once you have an oil pump, going back to mining rocks with a pickaxe feels like living in the Stone Age. Because it is.
Modern Problems: The Industrial Grinder and Hesperornis Eggs
There are some weird, niche ways to get oil that most people forget about. Did you know you can get oil from Hesperornis eggs? If you kill these annoying birds, you get organic polymer, but if you refine their golden eggs... actually, don't do that. It’s a waste of a golden egg.
Instead, look into the Industrial Grinder. If you find yourself with an excess of certain items—maybe you’ve been raiding drops and have twenty primitive saddles you don't need—grind them down. You’ll get a percentage of the resources back. Sometimes that includes oil, depending on what you’re shredding.
And let’s talk about the Basilosaurus. These big, sausage-looking whales are incredible. They actually produce oil in their inventory over time. You don't even have to feed them anything special. Just let them sit there in the water. It’s "Basilo Oil," but it functions exactly like regular oil for making gasoline.
Why Your Gasoline Production Might Be Failing
I’ve seen it a hundred times. A player has the oil, they have the hide, the forge is lit, and... nothing.
Check your quantities.
ARK is finicky. If you have 5 Oil and 5 Hide, the recipe won't trigger. It must be at least 6 Oil. Also, make sure you aren't accidentally using the oil for something else. If you’re trying to make Jerky in a Preserving Bin at the same time, the Sparkpowder and Oil will be consumed to make the jerky, leaving nothing for your gasoline needs if you aren't careful.
Another tip: Hide is easy to get, but don't underestimate how much you’ll burn through. Keep a dedicated chest for it. Every time you come back from a meat run with your Rex or Giga, dump the hide straight into the forge. You’ll never have to worry about it again.
Moving Beyond the Basics: Tek Tier and Element
Eventually, you might move past gasoline. Tek generators run on Element or Element Shards. But even then, you'll still need gasoline for your back-up systems or your secondary bases. Gas never truly becomes obsolete. It’s the mid-tier fuel that bridges the gap between wooden torches and sci-fi lasers.
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If you're playing on a map like Extinction, you can harvest "Enforcer" or "Defense Unit" corpses for electronics and oil. It’s a very different vibe than mining rocks in the snow, but the result is the same. The game gives you plenty of ways to find what you need; you just have to be willing to look in the weird corners of the map.
Actionable Steps for Massive Gas Production
Stop doing it the hard way. Follow this workflow to ensure your base never goes dark.
- Tame a high-level Ankylosaurus. Don't settle for a level 50. Get a 140 or 150. Pump all its levels into Melee Damage. This directly increases the amount of oil you get per hit.
- Locate an Oil Vein or a cluster of nodes. If you're on The Island, build a small 2x2 outpost in the snow biome with a bed and a few Refining Forges. It’s easier to fly hide to the oil than it is to haul heavy oil across the map to your main base.
- Use a Argentavis for transport. They have a weight reduction for many resources and can carry your Ankylo. It’s the classic "mining rig" combo.
- Always keep the forge stocked. Make it a habit. Every time you walk past your Industrial Forge, check the levels. If it’s below 1000 Gasoline, go on a run.
- Craft in bulk. Don't just make 10 gasoline. Make 1000. It doesn't spoil. It stacks well.
The transition to gasoline power is one of the most rewarding jumps in the game. It’s the difference between manual labor and automation. Once you have a steady supply, you can finally start focusing on the fun stuff: taming the big hitters and taking on the bosses. Just don't forget to keep an eye on the fuel gauge of your generator. There's nothing worse than waking up to a powered-down fridge full of spoiled Wyvern milk.
Once you have your oil sources secured and your forges running, focus on expanding your storage. Gasoline is light, but the components to make it are heavy. Keep your oil near your forges to minimize travel time. Efficiency is the only way to survive the long game in ARK.