Gulf coast oil spill

[GunMaster357]

Here in France, the news channel speak of 'barrels' of oil, yet when I read news in english the amount of oil is sometimes expressed in gallons.

I know the difference between the two: 55 gallons to 1 barrel.

Can someone give me hard numbers ?

[glatt]

According to Wikipedia, a barrel of oil is 42 gallons or about 159 liters. Other liquids measured in barrels are 55 gallons, but oil is 42.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrel#For_storage_of_oil

[GunMaster357]

Originally Posted by glatt

According to Wikipedia, a barrel of oil is 42 gallons or about 159 liters. Other liquids measured in barrels are 55 gallons, but oil is 42.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrel#For_storage_of_oil

Thanks for the correction. Though I'm familiar with US/UK units from my reading, I don't use them on a regular basis.




I'll say that if BP says 5000 barrels a day, you can probably add between 25% to 75% to that amount.

Therefore, an estimation of 10 000 barrels/day seems reasonable... as long as BP isn't lying through its teeth.

As for paying the cleaning of the coast, there's no third party between BP and the goverment. It's should be easy enough to present them with the bill.

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by glatt

According to Wikipedia, a barrel of oil is 42 gallons or about 159 liters. Other liquids measured in barrels are 55 gallons, but oil is 42.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrel#For_storage_of_oil

That sounds like a good reason to use gallons (or liters) when mentioning it in the news. We're not talking about the wholesale market; we're talking about liquid dumping into the sea. Best to use a measurement that is more commonly understood. However many people know the 55 gallon number, I would guess that fewer know the special case for oil.

I don't care how many barrels BP won't be able to sell; I care how many gallons are being spewed into the sea.

[tw]

If the house special is blackfish, would you order it?