War stories, articles & game guides
Gamer
Tribute
2026
Expeditions,
War Stories &
Culture
War stories, articles & game guides
Gamer
Tribute
2026
Expeditions,
War Stories &
Culture
“I plan to build a machine that will collapse the tunnels the Scourge is using to deploy their Nerubians, but with the main drilling rig out of order, we’ll have to collect the fuel for the device some other way. Out in the Geyser Fields to the southeast, small pools of oil bubble up away from the main rig. If you can collect enough of the oil from those pools, I can make a crude fuel to power the machine.
Simply deploy the collector near the rig, and it will pump and store the oil in its tank.”
-Abner Fizzletorque
Abner Fizzletorque at Fizzcrank Airstrip wants you to collect 8 Barrels of Oil using the Portable Oil Collector.
You will be able to choose one of these rewards:
You will receive:
Upon completion of this quest you will gain:
Quest Giver: Abner Fizzletorque, Fizzcrank Airstrip [57, 18]
Turn In: Abner Fizzletorque [57, 18]
Objective: Collect 8 Barrels of Oil using the Portable Oil Collector.
Quick Facts
Walkthrough
Head southeast from Fizzcrank Airstrip into the Geyser Fields and Scalding Pools area. Look for oil slicks bubbling up from the ground.
How to Identify Oil Pools:
To Collect Oil:
Recommended Locations
Primary Location (Fastest):
Alternative Locations:
Most players complete this quest at the first pool south of the airstrip without needing to travel far.
Tips and Warnings
Bug Warning: You can get stuck inside the Portable Oil Collector if you stand too close when deploying it. Use the device from a few yards away rather than standing directly on top of the oil slick.
Efficiency: The primary pool at [58, 28] has enough slicks and fast enough respawns that you can stay in one spot. No need to hunt across the entire zone.
Story Context: Why Manual Collection?
Abner explains: “I plan to build a machine that will collapse the tunnels the Scourge is using to deploy their Nerubians, but with the main drilling rig out of order, we’ll have to collect the fuel for the device some other way.”
The “main drilling rig out of order” refers to the Fizzcrank Pumping Station, which has been overrun by Gearmaster Mechazod’s robot army. The Mechazod crisis (covered in the parallel quest chain) has shut down gnomish oil production, forcing Abner to improvise with portable collectors and natural seeps.
Abner’s completion: “<Abner sets about draining the fuel tank of the collector.> Distilling this by hand is going to be messy, but I’ll have it taken care of soon. In the meantime, we’ll need one more material to complete the machine.”
The “one more material” leads directly to A Bot in Mammoth’s Clothing, where you collect mammoth hides for the device’s outer shell.
The Shake-n-Quake Plan
This quest is part of Abner’s four-quest chain to build and deploy the “Shake-n-Quake,” a gnomish seismic device designed to collapse nerubian tunnels:
The chain culminates in a confrontation with Lord Kryxix, a nerubian commander, in the collapsed tunnels.
Explore Borean Tundra’s hidden easter eggs, lore mysteries, and connections across Warcraft history in Vikstone’s Borean Tundra Chronicles, along with the complete quest storyline.
Phase1
Binds when picked
Two-Hands Sword
605 - 1,010 Damage Speed 3.60
(224.3 damage per second)
+283 Strength
+596 Critical Strike
Durability 85 / 85
Requires level 110 to 120 120
Sell Price:
64
64
8
Phase2
Binds when picked
Ranged Bow
572 - 774 Damage Speed 3.00
(224.3 damage per second)
+320 Agility
+576 Critical Strike
Durability 85 / 85
Requires level 110 to 120 120
Sell Price:
62
12
73
Vikstone's War JournalAbner had a plan to collapse the Nerubian tunnels. It was bold and ambitious, the kind of idea that might actually work.
But the main drilling rig was out of commission, so the fuel would have to come from somewhere else. Eight barrels of oil, collected by hand from the bubbling pools scattered across the Geyser Fields. The Portable Oil Collector made it simple enough: deploy, wait, collect. Move to the next pool. Repeat.
The air stank of petroleum as the ground hissed with geothermal pressure. Between the geysers and the Nerubians, the Fields earned their reputation.
Eight barrels later, Abner drained the collector’s tank and started distilling immediately. “Messy work,” he muttered, “but I’ll have it taken care of soon. In the meantime, we’ll need one more material to complete the machine.”
One more errand before we could bury the Nerubians in their own tunnels.
Abner still would not say what he was building, and now wanted mammoth hides to wrap around it, which is how Vikstone ends up putting A Bot in Mammoth’s Clothing.
