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What's In A Barrel Of Oil?

A 42 Gallon drum of oil contains gas, diesel fuels, jet fuel, asphalt, lubricants, and much more, including thousands of products.

 

When we think of a barrel of crude oil, we usually think of the fuels that power our everyday lives.

However, there is much more to the average 42 gallon barrel of oil than you may think (did you know it was only 42 gallons?), and gas only accounts for less than half of a barrel's contents. We're all familiar with the three fuel types (87, 89, 93 octane levels) on the pump at a gas station, but what about the thousands of types of lubricants that come from a much smaller percentage of the barrel?

Petroleum is in everything from the screen you're reading this on to the toothbrush and mouthwash you use every day. In fact, oil is in so many different products that the better question to ask is, "What do we use that doesn't contain petroleum?" It could be hard to believe, but plenty of your everyday household products also come from the same barrel of oil as the gas in your vehicle.

Check out a more extensive list of products made from oil that we use daily.

Petroleum Service Company's Oil Barrel Breakdown diagram shows what products come from which parts of the barrel. Although we are primarily in the lubricants business - making up a seemingly small 1% of a barrel of oil - PSC regularly stocks and ships over 1,750 products that are made from this single percent at the bottom of the barrel.

These include lubricants for the industrialmanufacturingautomotivefleet, and aviation industries. Also in stock are protective coatingsfuel additives and chemical additives, as well as supplementary equipment to help get the job done. These products cover a comprehensive range of specifications and characteristics - with hundreds of different chemical make-ups - yet they all come from 1% of a barrel of oil.


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