Researchers broke down a typical barrel of domestic crude oil into what could be produced from it. The average domestic crude oil has a gravity of 32 degrees and weighs 7.21 pounds per gallon. Here’s what you can make from one barrel of oil.
- Wax for 170 birthday candles or 27 crayons
- Distillate fuel to drive a large truck (five miles per gallon) for almost 40 miles. If jet fuel fraction is included, that same truck can run nearly 50 miles
- Asphalt to make about one gallon of tar for patching roofs or streets
- Nearly 70 kilowatt-hours of electricity at a power plant generated by residual fuel
- Liquefied gases, such as propane, to fill 12 small (14.1-ounce) cylinders for home, camping or workshop use
- 135 four-inch rubber balls
- 23 hula hoops
- 195 one-cup measuring cups
- 65 plastic dust pans
- 39 polyester shirts
- 11 plastic telephone housings
- 65 plastic drinking cups
- 750 pocket combs
- 540 toothbrushes
- Gasoline to drive a medium sized car (17 miles per gallon) for more than 280 miles
- About four pounds of charcoal briquettes
- Lubricants to make about one quart of motor oil
The lighter materials in a barrel are used mainly for paint thinners and dry-cleaning solvents. They can make nearly a quart of one of these products. The miscellaneous fraction of what is left still contains enough byproducts to be used in medical oils, still gas, road oil and plant condensates.
Other Interesting Facts About Oil
On the 10 year anniversary of the BP Oil Spill, United States Crude Oil prices have turned negative for the first time since NYMEX oil futures trading began in 1983.
Let’s begin by saying that this is a Fundamental problem, and not at all technical, highlighting the importance of Fundamental Analysis.
When Harry Kissinger revealed the deal, the United States made with Saudi Arabia in the ’70s, it became clear that oil is here to stay as a critical element in the world’s balance of power. In the early 70s, the United States decided to drop the U.S. Dollar’s peg to gold. It simply let the fiat currency to free float.
With the world in shock, the United States quickly revealed the source of strong demand for its dollars: oil money. Also called petrodollars, the deal Kissinger made with the Saudis was that the Arabian ‘black gold’ is sold in dollars only, in exchange for military protection.
The rest, as they say, is history. Decades later, the deal is still in place, and the petrodollars are responsible for much of the economic growth the United States enjoyed all this time. And it continues to do so.
How To Trade Crude Oil
Regardless of your experience in energy sector investment, if you follow the points outlined in this blog you will be well on your way to a healthy profit from trading. As the world’s primary energy source, ‘black gold’l is incredibly popular among traders and will always see a healthy level of volatility, making it the ideal commodity to trade.
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