Barrel as a unit of measurement for crude oil originated from the 

Drake Well in Pennsylvania, U.S. It later became a widely accepted 

standard for oil trades in the U.S. and around the world through its 

use by the Standard Oil Company founded by John D. Rockefeller.

1 barrel = 42 U.S. gallons (1 U.S. gallon = 3.7854 liters) ≈ 0.159 m3 

= 159 liters

While many oil producing countries, such as OPEC and western 

countries like UK and U.S., use the volume-based unit of “barrel” to 

measure crude oil, countries including China and Russia use “metric 

ton”, a weight unit. Since the oil density varies greatly among the 

dierent places of origin, the weight of a barrel may uctuate from 

128 kg to 142 kg, meaning 1 metric ton of crude oil is about 7.0 to 

7.8 barrels.

Commemorative postmark of Oil City, Pennsylvania dated July 16, 

1983 in celebration of the “Oil Heritage Week”. The mark depicts a 

horse cart carrying wooden barrels.

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