Result in US Oil Barrels
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Equivalent volume value
Accurate volume conversion tool for litres, US oil barrels, US liquid barrels, Imperial barrels, gallons, and cubic metres
Convert litres to barrels instantly with precise calculations. Includes bidirectional conversion and a complete volume unit breakdown covering all barrel types for 2026.
Professional volume conversion for oil and gas industry, petroleum engineering, brewing, food production, chemical processing, and international trade
Convert litres to barrels with full precision using exact conversion factors: 1 US oil barrel = 158.987295 litres. Our tool covers all four major barrel types — US oil barrel (bbl), US liquid barrel, US dry barrel, and Imperial barrel — giving you instant, reliable results for any volume from a single litre of laboratory fluid to millions of litres of crude oil or processed petroleum products in large-scale industrial and trading applications.
Switch seamlessly between litres to barrels and barrels to litres conversion modes. Get instant results in six volume units simultaneously — US oil barrels (bbl), US liquid barrels, US dry barrels, Imperial barrels, US gallons, and cubic metres — from a single litre or barrel input. The complete multi-unit breakdown is displayed with every result, making this tool indispensable for petroleum engineers, traders, and logistics professionals working across multiple unit systems.
Essential for petroleum engineers, oil traders, chemical engineers, brewers, and anyone working across metric and imperial volume systems. The US oil barrel (42 US gallons = 158.987 litres) is the global standard unit for crude oil pricing and trading — all OPEC production data, futures contracts, and refinery outputs are quoted in barrels, while most engineering and scientific calculations use litres or cubic metres. Accurate litres-to-barrels conversion is a daily requirement across energy, brewing, and chemical sectors worldwide.
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The litre (L) is the metric unit of volume defined as exactly 1 cubic decimetre (0.001 m³). It is the standard volume unit in scientific, engineering, and everyday use across all metric countries. The barrel is a traditional unit of volume used primarily in the oil and gas, brewing, and food industries — but critically, there is no single "barrel": there are several distinct barrel definitions in use globally. The most important is the US oil barrel (bbl), defined as exactly 42 US liquid gallons = 158.987295 litres. This is the global standard for crude oil trading, OPEC production statistics, and petroleum refinery outputs. All major oil price benchmarks — Brent Crude, WTI, Dubai Crude — are quoted in US dollars per barrel (US oil barrel = 158.987 L).
Other barrel types have different volumes: the US liquid barrel = 31.5 US gallons = 119.240 litres (used for beer and other liquids); the US dry barrel = 105 dry quarts = 115.627 litres (used for dry goods); the Imperial barrel (UK) = 36 Imperial gallons = 163.659 litres (used in UK brewing). The conversion factor for the most common type — litres to US oil barrels — is: bbl = L ÷ 158.987295, or equivalently L = bbl × 158.987295. A standard oil tanker truck holds approximately 34,000–43,000 litres = 214–270 bbl. A VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) supertanker holds approximately 318 million litres = 2 million barrels of crude oil.
Example: 1,000 L ÷ 158.987 = 6.2898 US oil bbl | 10 bbl × 158.987 = 1,589.87 litres | 1 US oil bbl = 42 US gallons = 158.987 L
All four main barrel types have different volumes in litres. The US oil barrel (158.987 L = 42 US gallons) is the global petroleum industry standard. The Imperial barrel (163.659 L = 36 Imperial gallons) is the largest of the four. The US dry barrel (115.627 L) is the smallest.
Complete reference table covering common litre volumes with their US oil barrel (bbl), US liquid barrel, Imperial barrel, US gallon, and cubic metre equivalents. All values use the exact factor: 1 US oil bbl = 158.987295 L.
| Litres (L) | US Oil Barrels (bbl) | US Liquid Barrels | Imperial Barrels | US Gallons | Cubic Metres (m³) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 L | 0.006290 bbl | 0.008386 bbl | 0.006102 bbl | 0.26417 gal | 0.001 m³ |
| 10 L | 0.06290 bbl | 0.08386 bbl | 0.06102 bbl | 2.6417 gal | 0.010 m³ |
| 50 L | 0.31449 bbl | 0.41932 bbl | 0.30512 bbl | 13.209 gal | 0.050 m³ |
| 100 L | 0.62898 bbl | 0.83864 bbl | 0.61024 bbl | 26.417 gal | 0.100 m³ |
| 158.987 L | 1.00000 bbl | 1.33333 bbl | 0.97143 bbl | 42.000 gal | 0.159 m³ |
| 200 L | 1.25796 bbl | 1.67729 bbl | 1.22047 bbl | 52.834 gal | 0.200 m³ |
| 500 L | 3.14490 bbl | 4.19321 bbl | 3.05119 bbl | 132.09 gal | 0.500 m³ |
| 1,000 L | 6.28981 bbl | 8.38641 bbl | 6.10237 bbl | 264.17 gal | 1.000 m³ |
| 1,590 L | 10.0006 bbl | 13.334 bbl | 9.7153 bbl | 420.03 gal | 1.590 m³ |
| 5,000 L | 31.449 bbl | 41.932 bbl | 30.512 bbl | 1,320.9 gal | 5.000 m³ |
| 10,000 L | 62.898 bbl | 83.864 bbl | 61.024 bbl | 2,641.7 gal | 10.000 m³ |
| 50,000 L | 314.49 bbl | 419.32 bbl | 305.12 bbl | 13,209 gal | 50.000 m³ |
| 100,000 L | 628.98 bbl | 838.64 bbl | 610.24 bbl | 26,417 gal | 100.00 m³ |
| 1,000,000 L | 6,289.8 bbl | 8,386.4 bbl | 6,102.4 bbl | 264,172 gal | 1,000.0 m³ |
The US oil barrel (bbl) is the standard unit for measuring crude oil and petroleum products globally. It is defined as exactly 42 US liquid gallons = 158.987295 litres = 0.158987 cubic metres. The 42-gallon standard was established in Pennsylvania in the 1860s during the early oil industry, based on the physical size of wooden barrels then in use. Today no physical barrel is used — the unit is purely a measurement standard. Global crude oil production, OPEC quotas, and oil futures (WTI, Brent) are all quoted in US oil barrels per day (bbl/d).
The US liquid barrel = 31.5 US liquid gallons = 119.240 litres — distinctly smaller than the US oil barrel (42 gallons). The US liquid barrel is used in food and beverage industries for products like beer, wine, and cranberries. A US beer barrel for draught beer is specifically 31 US gallons = 117.348 litres (slightly different again). When purchasing barrels for brewing or food use, always confirm whether the specification refers to US oil barrels (42 gal / 158.987 L) or US liquid barrels (31.5 gal / 119.240 L) to avoid a 25% volume error.
The Imperial barrel = 36 Imperial gallons = 163.659 litres — making it the largest of the common barrel types, approximately 3% larger than the US oil barrel. It is used in UK brewing, UK food production, and some Commonwealth country specifications. Imperial gallons are themselves larger than US gallons (1 Imperial gallon = 4.54609 L vs 1 US gallon = 3.78541 L), which explains why 36 Imperial gallons yields 163.659 L while 42 US gallons yields only 158.987 L. When dealing with UK or Australian barrel specifications, always confirm Imperial vs US barrel sizing.
Global crude oil production is approximately 100 million barrels per day (100 Mbbl/d) = approximately 15.9 billion litres per day. Saudi Arabia's peak production capacity is around 12 million bbl/d = 1.91 billion litres per day. A standard oil tanker (Aframax) holds approximately 80,000–120,000 deadweight tonnes = 500,000–750,000 barrels = 79–119 million litres. Oil refinery capacities are expressed in barrels per day (bbl/d) or barrels per calendar day (bcd). Converting to litres is essential when working with metric pipeline flow rates, tank farm capacities, or storage volumes specified in cubic metres.
The US dry barrel = 105 dry quarts = 7,056 cubic inches = 115.627 litres. It is used for measuring dry commodities such as cranberries, cement, and other granular materials in the United States. The US dry barrel is not used for liquids or petroleum. It is smaller than both the US oil barrel (158.987 L) and the US liquid barrel (119.240 L). In the cranberry industry specifically, 1 dry barrel = 100 pounds of cranberries. Always specify which barrel type applies when dealing with dry commodities to avoid significant measurement errors in commercial transactions.
Converting oil production rates from barrels per day to litres per second is a common engineering task: 1 bbl/day = 158.987 L ÷ 86,400 seconds = 0.001840 L/s = 1.840 mL/s. For large oilfields: 100,000 bbl/day = 184.0 L/s = 0.184 m³/s. 1 million bbl/day = 1,840 L/s = 1.840 m³/s. These flow rate conversions are essential for pipeline sizing, pump specification, and storage tank fill time calculations in petroleum engineering projects where metric and US customary unit systems must be reconciled in the same design document.
For litres to US oil barrels: divide litres by 159 for a quick estimate (exact: ÷158.987). For example, 1,000 L ÷ 159 ≈ 6.29 bbl (exact: 6.290 bbl). For barrels to litres: multiply barrels by 159 (exact: ×158.987). For example, 100 bbl × 159 = 15,900 L (exact: 15,898.7 L). The 159 approximation gives an error of less than 0.01% — more than sufficient for quick field estimates. For financial or contractual calculations, always use the exact factor of 158.987295 L/bbl to avoid cumulative rounding errors in large volume transactions.
In petroleum engineering, three volume units are routinely used together: 1 m³ = 1,000 L = 6.28981 bbl. This means 1 bbl ≈ 0.159 m³ exactly. Reservoir engineers express oil in place in millions of barrels (MMbbl) or millions of cubic metres (Mm³). Pipeline capacities are given in m³/h or bbl/d. Storage tanks are sized in m³ but traded in bbl. The key cross-reference: 1 million bbl = 158,987 m³ ≈ 159,000 m³. Memorising 1 bbl ≈ 0.159 m³ (or 1 m³ ≈ 6.29 bbl) makes mental cross-system checks fast and reliable in field engineering contexts.
The four main barrel types differ by up to 41% in volume: US dry barrel (115.6 L) vs Imperial barrel (163.7 L). In commercial and legal contexts, specifying just "barrels" without clarifying the type can cause serious errors. The US oil barrel (158.987 L) is the global petroleum standard and is assumed by default in energy industry documents. The US liquid barrel (119.240 L) is assumed in US brewing and food industry contracts. The Imperial barrel (163.659 L) is used in UK brewing. The US dry barrel (115.627 L) is used in US dry goods trade. Always confirm barrel type when reviewing purchase orders, shipping documents, or engineering specifications from unfamiliar sources.
Converting litres to US oil barrels (the most common conversion) requires dividing by the exact conversion factor of 158.987295. Here is the complete process with a worked example:
For converting barrels to litres, multiply US oil barrels by 158.987295. Example: 50 bbl × 158.987295 = 7,949.36 litres. Example: 1 bbl = 158.987 L = 119.240 ÷ 0.75 US liquid bbl = 42 US gallons = 34.9723 Imperial gallons. The bidirectional calculator above handles all conversions instantly — enter any litre or barrel value and get all six volume units simultaneously. For related tools, our Litres to Gallons Converter and Cubic Metres to Litres Converter cover the full metric and imperial volume toolkit.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) publishes all member production quotas, output data, and market reports in million barrels per day (Mbbl/d). Converting these figures to litres per second or cubic metres per day is essential for pipeline engineers, storage facility designers, and energy economists working in metric-unit environments. OPEC's Annual Statistical Bulletin is the authoritative global reference for barrel-based petroleum volume data.
Visit OPEC →Explore our full library of free conversion tools covering volume, weight, length, area, pressure, temperature, and energy — all built for fast, accurate results on any device. Every converter outputs complete multi-unit breakdowns in a single result panel, making them ideal for engineers, scientists, traders, and students working across both metric and US customary unit systems worldwide.
Browse All Converters →Our Litres to Gallons converter is the perfect companion for litres-to-barrels work — since 1 US oil barrel = exactly 42 US gallons, knowing both conversions gives complete volume fluency across metric and imperial systems. Covers US gallons (3.78541 L), Imperial gallons (4.54609 L), and US dry gallons with the same full multi-unit breakdown format and bidirectional functionality for complete coverage.
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