How the petroleum barrel volume calculator works
One petroleum barrel contains 42 U.S. liquid gallons. Using 3.785411784 liters per U.S. gallon gives 158.987294928 liters per barrel. A cubic meter is 1,000 liters. The tool converts to liters and then into the remaining units.
This barrel convention is for petroleum volume. Beer, dry goods and other historical barrels use different capacities. U.S. liquid gallons also differ from imperial gallons. The selected starting unit is part of the result and is included in the export.
A volume unit conversion does not standardize a measurement to a reference temperature or pressure. It also does not calculate mass, market value or barrels of oil equivalent. Use the liquid mass tool separately with a matching density when a mass estimate is needed.
Worked example
One petroleum barrel is 42 U.S. liquid gallons, 158.987294928 liters, or 0.158987294928 cubic meters. Two barrels have twice each quantity. The displayed values are rounded; the conversion factors remain unchanged.
Sources and assumptions
The source material explains the underlying calculation or pricing structure. Entered prices, costs, schedules and scenario choices are your assumptions; this tool does not obtain supplier quotes or predict actual results.
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