Crude Oil

Everyday or most of the time when we open the daily newspaper, we observe the rise or fall of the price of crude oil. Figures given like US$ 120 per barrel and so. But does anyone know what is crude oil and how much is one barrel? I intend to explain it here.

Crude oil : The oil we find underground is called crude oil. Crude oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons - from almost solid to gaseous. These were produced when tiny plants and animals decayed under layers of sand and mud millions of years ago. Crude oil has to be changed before it can be used for anything. This happens in an oil refinery

Crude oil is sold between countries in quantities called barrels. (The same measurement is used to sell whisky.)

One barrel of oil is the same as:

159 litres (about 80 large fizzy drink bottle)

or
35 gallons (enough to fit in the petrol tanks of about 4 cars)

or
280 pints (a lot of bottles of milk)

The weight of a barrel depends on where the oil comes from. However, there are about 8 barrels in a tonne. You could fit nearly 2 million barrels of oil into a football stadium - or one and a half tankers. This is how much oil we use in the UK every day.