Why is crude oil measured in barrels? In oil exploration, the first tool used to hold oil was the barrel. But at the time, the bucket was just a loading tool, not used to calculate volume. Gradually, people became accustomed to using barrels as a unit of measurement for oil. In a word, it is the most convenient and quickest way to select “bucket” unit volume measurement data for delivery.
Why is crude oil measured in barrels?
According to the standard, each barrel of crude oil is equivalent to 42 US gallons , or about 159 liters. Of course, this is just volume, and different qualities of crude oil have different weights per barrel. High-quality crude oil is lighter than high-density crude oil due to its low density. A barrel of refined oil is equivalent to 55 US gallons, or 208 liters, also known as “210 barrels.” Therefore, although both crude oil transactions and barrels of refined oil contain the word “barrel”, they are not conceptually the same.
It is worth noting that most countries in the world use barrels to measure oil, but China is different, using the unit of measurement in tons. The unit of ton is also used when publishing some data. According to the data, in 2018, the domestic capital used to import crude oil reached 240 billion US dollars, and the average price per barrel reached 73 US dollars. Calculated at this unit price, it is consistent with the international oil price level last year. Look here, do you understand the meaning of the international term “barrel”? Don’t confuse the concept of “bucket” again.