Oil Barrel Volume Converter
Convert between barrels, gallons, liters, and cubic meters for petroleum volume calculations
Volume Input
Enter volume and select input unit
Barrel Standards
- US Oil Barrel: 42 US gallons (159.987 liters)
- UK Oil Barrel: 35 UK gallons (159.113 liters)
- Blue Barrel (bbl): Industry standard since 1872
Conversion Results
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Quick Reference: 1 US Oil Barrel =
| US Gallons | 42.000 |
| UK Gallons | 34.972 |
| Liters | 158.987 |
| Cubic Meters | 0.158987 |
| Cubic Feet | 5.6146 |
| Cubic Inches | 9,702 |
Volume Conversion Factors
| From | To BBL | To US Gal | To Liters | To m3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 US Oil Barrel | 1 | 42 | 158.987 | 0.158987 |
| 1 US Gallon | 0.02381 | 1 | 3.78541 | 0.003785 |
| 1 Liter | 0.006290 | 0.26417 | 1 | 0.001 |
| 1 Cubic Meter | 6.2898 | 264.172 | 1000 | 1 |
| 1 Cubic Foot | 0.1781 | 7.4805 | 28.3168 | 0.02832 |
Industry Context
The 42-gallon oil barrel became the industry standard in Pennsylvania in 1866. Prior to this, various barrel sizes were used, leading to confusion. The "blue barrel" designation comes from the practice of painting barrels blue to indicate they contained the standard 42 gallons.
Common Abbreviations
- bbl - barrel (from "blue barrel")
- BPD / BOPD - barrels (of oil) per day
- MBPD - thousand barrels per day
- MMBPD - million barrels per day
- STB - stock tank barrel (at standard conditions)