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Understand how barrels of oil are currently calculated and why oil is measured in barrels. Stay up to date with everything about this natural resource that is essential to the world..
Many people have heard about barrels of oil in the news, but almost no one understands what it really means. After all, why is oil measured in barrels? And how does this calculation work? In this text, you will understand everything in an easy and direct way, even without having studied the subject before. This information is worth it, because oil is still one of the most used energy sources on the planet and even influences the price of the fuel we put in our cars.
Where does oil come from and why is it measured in barrels?
To begin with, oil is not made in a laboratory. It comes from nature, either underground or from the bottom of the sea. The places where it is found are called sedimentary basins — which are layers formed by sand, mud, and other materials over millions of years. In these layers, the oil is trapped until it is removed with the help of large machines called oil rigs.
These platforms drill into the ground until they reach the pockets where the oil is stored. And it's not easy. This process is expensive, complicated and time-consuming. But it's worth it, because this dark oil is used to make gasoline, diesel, kerosene, plastics, paints, lubricants, among many other products that we use in our daily lives.
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And why is oil counted in barrels?
Back in the 19th century, when oil began to be used more commercially in United States, there was no right way to measure how much oil was in the tank. Workers would pour the liquid into whatever container they had nearby. Things were getting a bit messy, so they had to come up with a standard measurement. That's when they decided to use old wine barrels, which were easy to find at the time.
These barrels had a capacity of 42 American gallons, which is approximately 159 liters. And even today, despite all the technology, this measurement is still used. So, when you hear that Brazil produces 3 million barrels per day, it means that it is extracting approximately 477 million liters of oil per day from the ground. That's a lot!
Anyone who wants to better understand how the oil market works and how the barrel became the measure pattern you can delve deeper into this book 👉 Oil: A World History of Conquest and Conflict” or “The Price of Tomorrow”.
How does the calculation of a barrel work?
A barrel of oil is not only used to make gasoline. It can be used in its entirety, like that roast chicken in a bakery where we use every last bone. A barrel, after being refined, can be turned into several different products:
- Approximately 51% will become gasoline, which is the fuel most cars use.
- About 15% is converted into diesel, used by trucks, buses and some cars.
- About 12% become jet fuel.
- The rest is divided between cooking gas, heating oil, asphalt, lubricants and other things.
And there's more: during the refining process, other elements are added that increase the volume. Therefore, the final total of products that come out of a barrel can be greater than the initial 159 liters. It's engineering!
What is BOE? And why is it important?
In the midst of the oil news, you can see the acronym “boe” — which means “barrel of oil equivalent” (in English, barrel of oil equivalent). This is used to compare different energy sources. For example: natural gas, electricity and even ethanol have different amounts of energy. BOE helps to standardize all of this, as if putting everything in the same “bag”, to make the calculations easier.
This comparison is important because not all energy comes from oil. But since oil is still the main benchmark, the boe helps governments, companies and experts better understand how much energy is being produced, sold or used.
Knowing how oil is measured in barrels is important for everyone. This type of information helps to better understand fuel prices, government decisions, energy investments and even the value of currencies on the market. Now that you know that a barrel of oil has about 159 liters and that several useful products are produced from it, it is easier to understand the news and discuss this subject with more confidence.
