Oil and Gas Reference Tools

Common Abbreviations

bbl. = barrel
b/d = barrels per day
Mcf = thousand cubic feet
MMcf = million cubic feet
Bcf = billion cubic feet
Tcf = trillion cubic feet
BTU = British Thermal Unit
NGL = Natural Gas Liquids
LPG = Liquified Petroleum Gases

Energy Conversions

One barrel of crude oil equals:

  • 42 gallons
  • 5,800,000 BTU of energy
  • 5,614 cubic feet of natural gas
  • 0.22 ton of bituminous coal

One metric ton of crude oil equals:

  • 2,204 pounds
  • 7.46 barrels of domestic crude oil
  • 6.99 barrels of foreign crude oil

One cubic foot of natural gas equals:

  • 7.48 gallons
  • 1,030 BTU of energy
  • 0.000178 barrel of crude oil
  • 0.00004 ton of bituminous coal

One cubic meter of natural gas equals:

  • 35.314 cubic feet

One short ton of bituminous coal equals:

  • 2,000 pounds
  • 26,200,000 BTU of energy
  • 4.52 barrels of crude oil
  • 25,314 cubic feet of natural gas