Transportation and refining crude oil make an interesting project. This led to the development of a complete system, from an oil rig, to an oil loading platform, loading and transport to a refinery by oil tankers (ships), refining to avgas and LNG and onwards transportation by rail.

The oil rig handles passenger transport using the tugboat James Hart and helicopters. Ships operate on invisible track at ground level, and collect crude from the oil loading platform for transport to the refinery.

Helicopters may be used for passenger transport to the oil rig, with invisible track placed at any height to suit.

The refinery porcesses crude and LNG to produce AVgas, oil and LNG for onward transport by the rail tank cars.

My invisible track shows in Surveyor, but not in the minimap or Driver.  Water level is set 3 metres below the track level.

The process starts at the oil drilling rig model, industry enabled for passenger transport to and from the rig. It does not actually deliver oil to ships, this is the function of the oil and LNG loading platform.

Large tanker ships are not used close to a drilling rig, the oil is pumped to storage or to an off shore loading platform for transfer to tankers. The platform model may be seen behind the rig.

Passengers can load at the heliport or the ship wharf at the lower level.

A separate heliport is available, it matches the oil rig design and accepts ships and tugboats. The heliports have straight in track and are especially suitable for the new helicopters that are able to lift vertically above the track using the H key.

The Tankers are loading oil and LNG at the off shore loading platform in a stopped load process. The loading tubes on the platform are animated.

In the first picture, crude oil is loaded from the right side of the platform and LNG on the left side.

The oil or LNG is unloaded from the tanker ships at the refinery model. The loading tubes on the facility are animated and the amount of oil in the tanks is indicated by a gauge on the side of the front tank.

Oil and LNG are unloaded on the same track at the wharf, but at different points. The refinery process accepts crude oil and LNG, processes crude oil to diesel and delivers oil, diesel and LNG to tank cars.

The ships will stop reasonably accurately at loading points if the speed is low, the rail tank cars use the animated pipe system which does not depend on accuracy.

When operating under AI, if the ships or helicopters tend to overshoot due to high approach speeds use invisible speedboards (speedsigns) as required. My invisible 10kph speedsign (invisible in driver) placed at the centre of the loader track will interact as the bow of a ship passes, slowing the ship sufficently.

Helicopters will require speed signs placed earlier than the oil rig or heliport landing areas or they will overshoot.

Oil Tanker Global Oil

The oil tanker Global Oil is 178 metres long, and able to load crude oil and LNG at the loading platform. The tanker has a slow load process and settles deeper into the water as it is loaded, and floats higher when unloaded. The tanker can be unloaded at the refinery facility.

Small Oil Tanker Amanda Stewart

The smaller tanker Amanda Stewart is 119 metres long and has more detailed pipework on the deck than the Globil Oil tanker. It handles oil and LNG products.

LNG Tanker Arctic Princess

The tanker is 160 metres long and 17 metres beam and has the typical spherical LNG gas tankers for transport. It will transport LNG and crude oil, and is seen unloading LNG at the refinery.

All ships use an invisible interior. When you first go into cab mode, you see a view from the bridge but no ship model or interior. Use the [ and the ] keys to cycle around the different views within cab mode.

The refinery produces diesel, AvGas and LNG for loading to rail tank cars. The AvGas and LNG is loaded at two separate points on the one track closest to the refinery, picture one. The stopping point locations are signed in the refinery model. The refinery uses an animated pipe function to connect to my tank cars.

Diesel is loaded on the track further from the refinery, to the right of the tank cars shown in picture two above.

The LNG uses a special three axle bogey tabk car, the CELX model is shown in picture three.

Rail Cars

Ships

Structures

Aircraft