Where Does That 2nd 'B' in the Abbreviation for Crude Barrels (BBL) Come From?

On a side note, here's a little history lesson from your friends at Ticker Sense. You might have noticed long ago that the official abbreviation for barrels (when referencing a barrel of crude oil) is "BBL," despite the obvious fact that the word "barrel" lacks a second "b."

What are the origins of this mysterious "b"? The answer, courtesy of the Energy Information Administration:

In the early 1860's, when oil production began, there was no standard container for oil, so oil and petroleum products were stored and transported in barrels of all different shapes and sizes (beer barrels, fish barrels, molasses barrels, turpentine barrels, etc.). By the early 1870's, the 42-gallon barrel had been adopted as the standard for oil trade. This was 2 gallons per barrel more than the 40-gallon standard used by many other industries at the time. The extra 2 gallons was to allow for evaporation and leaking during tranport (most barrels were made of wood). Standard Oil began manufacturing 42 gallon barrels that were blue to be used for transporting petroleum. The use of a blue barrel, abbreviated "bbl," guaranteed a buyer that this was a 42-gallon barrel.

Please note that we do not advise reciting this fact to show off at your next cocktail party.

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[User 135231:]

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2008 Jan 01 11:43 PM

[User 135231:]

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2008 Jan 01 11:48 PM

[NeillyThere:]

It's worth noting that the 42 gallon "BBL" is 42 US gallons, not Imperial (UK) gallons.

It takes 1.2 US gallons to make an Imperial gallon.
Maybe the early settlers couldn't carry as much water in their 2 gallon bucket!

2008 May 23 08:52 AM

[david j for...:]

This bit of lore is false. Bbl was the abbreviation meaning barrel for centuries before petroleum was shipped in it.

2008 Oct 27 02:57 PM