On 2008/06/12, at 2:55 AM, Norman & Nancy Werling wrote:
The article explains that Japan measures crude oil in kiloliters and
Russia measures it in metric tons (tonnes).
Dear Norman and All,
One problem in buying or selling oil by volume is that oil varies
quite markedly in its density and this varies, again quite markedly,
with temperature.
This means that if you want to buy or sell in litres or kilolitres
then you should apply adjustment factors to allow for density and for
temperature. These adjustments have the effect that, after some
calculation, you actually buy and sell in tonnes and kilograms. I
suspect that all sales of oil in the world are, in fact, done in
kilograms and tonnes although there are many elaborate ways for people
to hide this simple fact.
For example, this web page (http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/science/energy_calculator.html
) seems to me a terribly inefficient way to teach children how to
spell the simple, both in word and concept, single word 'tonne'.
A few years ago, I visited the Permian Basin Oil Museum in Midland TX
where a poster on the wall stated that the oil barrel never actually
existed. I believe that this is the truth and that the oil barrel
never actually existed in any physical sense; no oil has ever actually
been poured into a barrel for measuring purposes.
I think that the oil barrel is a theoretical construct based on a
notional compromise barrel of about 35 UK gallons (BP), about 42 USA
gallons (Exxon), or about 159 litres (Shell). The price per barrel you
see in the morning paper is there simply for pricing in such a way
that the public will not understand the pricing process. Obfuscation,
using the word barrel, means that people cannot make a comparison
between the price of crude oil and the price they are asked to pay at
the pump.
At today's quoted price of about $135 (USD) this works out to be:
USA Buying price 3.21 $(USD) per gallon Selling price (approx) 4.00 $
(USD) per gallon
(Please check these figures for me.)
Australia Buying price 85 cents/litre Selling price (approx) 1.59 $/AUD
The problem for the oil companies is that when people can compare
their buying and selling prices they are inclined to ask questions
about the oil company's pricing policies.
I am not a religious person but, whenever I think of the way oil
companies use the word barrel, I am reminded of these quotations from
the the Bible.
Deuteronomy 25:13-14
Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small.
Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and a
small. Diverse weights and diverse measures, both of them alike are an
abomination to the Lord.
Micah 6:11
Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of
deceitful weights.
Leviticus 19:35-36
Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or
in measure. Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin,
shall ye have.
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin
PO Box 305 Belmont 3216,
Geelong, Australia
Phone: 61 3 5241 2008
Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has
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