Barrels (Petroleum) to Gallons Converter
Barrels (Petroleum) to Gallons Converter
The petroleum barrel is the standard unit for pricing and trading crude oil worldwide (as in "$80 a barrel" oil prices), even though it isn't used for retail fuel sales, which are priced per gallon or liter.
This tool goes beyond the petroleum barrel: the "From" and "To" dropdowns also cover the distinct Imperial barrel, U.S. fluid/dry barrels, and the full range of other volume units.
- Conversion factor: 1 petroleum barrel = exactly 42 U.S. fluid gallons (158.987 liters) — this specific 42-gallon definition is unique to the oil industry.
- Fully flexible: change either dropdown to convert between any two of the 40+ supported volume units.
- Not the same as other barrels: the petroleum barrel, Imperial barrel (36 imperial gallons), and U.S. fluid barrel (31.5 gallons, used for other liquids) are three genuinely different sizes sharing the word "barrel."
How many gallons are in a barrel of oil?
1 petroleum barrel equals exactly 42 U.S. gallons. This 42-gallon standard was set in the early Pennsylvania oil industry and has been the global oil-trading standard ever since.
Why don't gas stations sell fuel by the barrel?
The barrel is a wholesale/trading unit for crude oil; refined products like gasoline are sold to consumers by the gallon (US) or liter (most other countries) at a much smaller retail scale.
Barrels (Petroleum) to Gallons Converter
The petroleum barrel is the standard unit for pricing and trading crude oil worldwide (as in "$80 a barrel" oil prices), even though it isn't used for retail fuel sales, which are priced per gallon or liter.
This tool goes beyond the petroleum barrel: the "From" and "To" dropdowns also cover the distinct Imperial barrel, U.S. fluid/dry barrels, and the full range of other volume units.
- Conversion factor: 1 petroleum barrel = exactly 42 U.S. fluid gallons (158.987 liters) — this specific 42-gallon definition is unique to the oil industry.
- Fully flexible: change either dropdown to convert between any two of the 40+ supported volume units.
- Not the same as other barrels: the petroleum barrel, Imperial barrel (36 imperial gallons), and U.S. fluid barrel (31.5 gallons, used for other liquids) are three genuinely different sizes sharing the word "barrel."
How many gallons are in a barrel of oil?
1 petroleum barrel equals exactly 42 U.S. gallons. This 42-gallon standard was set in the early Pennsylvania oil industry and has been the global oil-trading standard ever since.
Why don't gas stations sell fuel by the barrel?
The barrel is a wholesale/trading unit for crude oil; refined products like gasoline are sold to consumers by the gallon (US) or liter (most other countries) at a much smaller retail scale.