Oil Barrel (bbl)

US customaryCurrent unit

Exactly 42 US gallons (158.987 L). The unit of crude oil trade since the 1860s Pennsylvania oil fields.

1 oil barrel = 158.9872949 liters (approximately).

1 oil barrel = 158.9872949 liters

About the oil barrel

The oil barrel did not come from the oil industry's own design but from the barrels already lying around Pennsylvania. After Drake's well of 1859 started a boom, producers shipped crude in whatever containers were handy: whiskey barrels of around 40 gallons, plus 42 and 45 gallon casks. Buyers grew suspicious of the inconsistency, and around 1866 producers settled on the wine tierce of 42 gallons, two gallons bigger than the common whiskey barrel. An Oil City circular of August 1866 also promised an allowance of two gallons in every 40.

By 1872 the 42-gallon standard was firmly established, and US government bodies adopted it in 1882. The barrel is exactly 42 US gallons, about 159 liters, and remains the worldwide pricing unit for crude, even though many countries report volumes in cubic meters. EIA says Strait of Hormuz flows of 20 million barrels a day equal about a fifth of global consumption, implying roughly 100 million barrels a day. The abbreviation bbl has a disputed origin: a popular story links it to Standard Oil's blue barrels, but the abbreviation predates the oil industry.

Sources: Wikipedia: Barrel (unit); NIST SP 811, Appendix B.8: conversion factors for volume; EIA: Today in Energy, Strait of Hormuz oil flows

Oil Barrel conversion chart

1 oil barrel expressed in every other volume unit:

Unit1 oil barrel
Liters158.9872949
Milliliters158,987.2949
US Gallons42
US Cups672
US Fluid Ounces5,376
Cubic Meters0.1589872949
Cubic Centimeters158,987.2949
US Quarts168
US Pints336
US Tablespoons10,752
US Teaspoons32,256
Metric Cups635.9491797
Metric Tablespoons10,599.153
Metric Teaspoons31,797.45899
Imperial Gallons34.97231575
Imperial Pints279.778526
Imperial Fluid Ounces5,595.570521
Cubic Inches9,702
Cubic Feet5.614583333
Cubic Yards0.2079475309
Cubic Millimeters158,987,294.9
Microliters158,987,294.9
Centiliters15,898.72949
Deciliters1,589.872949
Hectoliters1.589872949
Cubic Kilometers1.589872949×10⁻¹⁰
Australian Tablespoons7,949.364746
US Legal Cups662.4470622
Imperial Quarts139.889263
Cubic Miles3.814308051×10⁻¹¹
Wine Bottles211.9830599
Magnums105.99153
Jeroboams52.99576498
Methuselahs26.49788249
Nebuchadnezzars10.599153
US Gills1,344
US Fluid Drams43,008
US Minims2,580,480
Jiggers3,584
Pinches516,096
Dashes258,048
Imperial Gills1,119.114104
US Bushels4.511676789
US Pecks18.04670715
US Dry Quarts144.3736572
US Dry Pints288.7473145
US Dry Barrels1.375
US Liquid Barrels1.333333333
UK Beer Barrels0.9714532154
Firkins3.885812862
Kilderkins1.942906431
Hogsheads (ale)0.6476354769
Tierces1
Hogsheads (wine)0.6666666667
Puncheons0.5
Butts (pipe)0.3333333333
Tuns0.1666666667
Acre-feet0.0001288930976
Cords0.04386393229
Board Feet67.375
Cyathi3,495.293201
Sextarii291.2744335
Congii48.54573891
Modii18.20465209
Amphorae6.068217364
Omers72.26695224
Hin43.36017134
Baths (biblical)7.226695224
Homers0.7226695224
Gō881.3498107
Shō88.13498107
Tō8.813498107
Koku0.8813498107
Charkas1,292.641638
Shtofs129.2641638
Vedros12.92641638

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