The US still measures oil in barrels, despite most countries using the metric system. Initially, oil was stored in various containers, but eventually, the wooden whiskey barrel became the most popular. The standard whiskey barrel held 40 gallons, but producers overfilled them to 42 gallons. Steel kegs replaced wooden barrels, but the standard 42 US gallon barrel is still used. Other oil-producing countries rarely use barrels as they transport oil in tankers or pipelines. The reason for measuring oil in barrels is mainly for familiarity, but it doesn’t necessarily translate into a gasoline surplus.
Not all countries measure oil in barrels, but that particular measurement is still popular in the United States, meaning it remains in the public vernacular even if it has largely lost its meaning in a mostly metric world economy. At one point in history, oil producers stored oil in barrels, although the size and nature of those barrels were far from standard.
When the first oil fields were tapped in Pennsylvania during the 1860s, there were no 55-gallon steel drums in which to store the oil. Instead, the oil was pumped into whatever container it could be found, including pickle barrels, cracker barrels, and whiskey barrels. There was no such thing as a standard size oil barrel, but eventually the wooden whiskey barrel became the most popular storage container for holding crude oil until it could be shipped for refining.
The standard whiskey barrel at the time held about 40 gallons of liquid. Early oil producers wanted to make sure their customers got every last drop they ordered, so they actually overfilled barrels up to 42 gallons. This 42 US gallon mark (which is about 35 imperial gallons and about 160 liters) has become the standard measure of oil in barrels produced in American oil wells.
Eventually wooden whiskey barrels gave way to steel kegs which provided greater protection against leakage and contamination. Although these steel drums were designed to hold 55 US gallons of oil, the standard 42 US gallon barrel is still considered the correct legal measure of oil in barrels. When oil producers or economists talk about the number of barrels of oil produced in Saudi Arabia per day, for example, they are applying an American measurement, not one the Saudis themselves might use.
The reason other oil-producing countries rarely use the term “barrels” to measure their production rates is because they rarely store their produce in actual barrels. Oil pumped from the ground is most commonly transported in large tankers or via elaborate pipelines directly to refineries, or huge cargo ships for overseas delivery.
Individual companies may store oil in barrels, but major commercial oil producers rarely do so unless the product is being shipped to a remote location, such as a military base or third world countries without storage facilities. You’re more likely to see a crude oil derivative, such as gasoline or kerosene, actually stored in steel drums or barrels.
Therefore, the reason we measure oil in barrels is mainly to provide a familiar reference to those who grew up with images of barrels full of oil rolling down a conveyor belt. In reality, only a percentage of a barrel of oil is converted into gasoline or gasoline, so a number like 1,000,000 barrels of crude oil doesn’t necessarily translate into a gasoline surplus. It only refers to the number of gallons of crude oil produced that day, not how much has been refined into various petroleum products.
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