Convert volume units — liters, gallons, cups, milliliters, cubic meters, barrels and more.
| Unit | Name | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 0.001 bbl | 0.158987 L | |
| 0.01 bbl | 1.58987 L | |
| 0.1 bbl | 15.8987 L | |
| 1 bbl | 158.987 L | |
| 5 bbl | 794.935 L | |
| 10 bbl | 1589.87 L | |
| 50 bbl | 7949.35 L | |
| 100 bbl | 15898.7 L | |
| 1000 bbl | 158987 L |
Common oil barrel values converted to liter — factor: 1 bbl = 159 L
| Oil Barrel (bbl) | Liter (L) | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 0.001 bbl | 0.159 L | Small batch |
| 0.01 bbl | 1.59 L | Test batch |
| 0.1 bbl | 15.9 L | Small drum |
| 0.5 bbl | 79.49 L | Half barrel |
| 1 bbl | 159 L | Oil barrel |
| 5 bbl | 794.9 L | Small tank |
| 10 bbl | 1,590 L | Small batch |
| 50 bbl | 7,949 L | Tanker truck |
| 100 bbl | 1.59e+04 L | Small storage |
| 500 bbl | 7.949e+04 L | Pipeline batch |
| 1,000 bbl | 1.59e+05 L | Small reserve |
| 5,000 bbl | 7.949e+05 L | Tank farm |
| 1e+04 bbl | 1,590,000 L | Tank farm |
| 1e+05 bbl | 15,900,000 L | Day output |
| 1,000,000 bbl | 159,000,000 L | Supertanker |
Converting oil barrel to liter comes up frequently in cooking, chemistry, medicine, and engineering. A recipe written in metric units may need to be adapted for a kitchen using liter, or a laboratory protocol may specify volumes in oil barrel that need to be measured with equipment calibrated in liter.
In everyday use, knowing that 5 bbl = 794.9 L and 10 bbl = 1590 L covers most common situations. For bulk calculations, 100 bbl = 1.59e+04 L is a useful anchor. The reverse conversion — liter back to oil barrel — uses the factor 0.00629, so 1 L = 0.00629 bbl.
All conversions use the internationally recognized factor of exactly 1 bbl = 159 L. Calculations are performed in IEEE 754 double-precision floating point, giving accuracy to at least 8 significant figures — more than sufficient for any practical application.
Formula: Liter = Oil Barrel × 158.987
Multiply any oil barrel value by 158.987 to get liter. One oil barrel equals 158.987 L.
Reverse: Oil Barrel = Liter × 0.0062898224
Barrels × 159 for fast liter estimate (0.6% error vs exact 158.987).
bbl × 42 = US gallons, then × 3.785 = liters.
One million barrels ≈ 159 million liters — oil industry anchor.
Calculates crude oil reserves, production rates, and pipeline throughput in barrels per day.
Prices oil futures denominated in USD per barrel on NYMEX and ICE exchanges.
Tracks feedstock intake and product output in barrels per stream-day.
Reports strategic petroleum reserve levels and OPEC quota compliance in millions of barrels.
Converts barrel quantities to liters for reactor sizing and process design calculations.
Compares global oil demand forecasts from IEA and EIA expressed in barrels per day.
The US oil barrel (bbl) is defined as exactly 42 US gallons, equal to 158.987 liters. The 42-gallon standard was adopted by the Pennsylvania oil industry in 1866, based on the wine tierce barrel.
Oil barrels are the global benchmark for crude oil pricing: NYMEX WTI and ICE Brent futures are quoted in USD per barrel. OPEC quotas and national reserves are all expressed in barrels per day.
Interesting fact: No physical barrels are used to ship crude oil today. The unit is purely a pricing and accounting convention; tankers carry millions of barrels in sealed tanks.
The liter was introduced by the French metric system in 1793, defined as the volume of one kilogram of pure water at 4°C. The word derives from the older French unit litron, from Medieval Latin litra. It was redefined in 1964 as exactly 1 cubic decimeter.
France adopted the liter as part of revolutionary metric standardization, spreading across Europe with Napoleonic expansion. Today it is the standard unit for liquids in most of the world, from soda bottles to fuel pumps.
Interesting fact: A liter of water at 4°C weighs almost exactly 1 kilogram, which is why the kilogram was originally defined through it.