Barrel of oil equivalent (boe)
An energy unit equal to the approximate heat released by burning one barrel (42 US gallons, 158.99 L) of crude oil, about 5.8 MMBtu or 6.12 GJ.
The barrel of oil equivalent is used mainly by oil and gas companies to aggregate oil and gas reserves and production in a single figure. The standard US definition (SEC, USGS) is 5.8 million BTU, gross heating value.
1 boe = 5.8 MMBtu ≈ 6.119 GJ ≈ 1.700 MWh
Gas conversion: 1 boe ≈ 6,000 cubic feet (6 Mcf) ≈ 170 m³ of natural gas
1 toe ≈ 7.33 boe (approximate, LHV vs HHV conventions differ)
1 million boe/day ≈ 2.23 EJ/year
Variants exist: some companies use 5.6 or 6.1 GJ per boe, or 5,615 cubic feet of gas per boe, which equalises volume rather than energy. Because conventions differ, boe figures from different companies are only approximately comparable. Thousands (kboe, Mboe) and millions (MMboe) are common in reporting; daily production is quoted in boe/d.
Note that a boe of gas and a boe of oil have equal heat content but not equal value: on an energy basis, Henry Hub gas has typically traded at a large discount to crude oil. For example, at 3 USD/MMBtu, one boe of gas is worth about 17 USD, compared with crude oil at 60–80 USD/bbl. World oil consumption of about 103 million barrels per day corresponds to roughly 196 EJ per year. See also toe and MMBtu.
Related terms
All terms →- Tonne of oil equivalent (toe)
A conventional energy unit equal to 41.868 GJ (10 Gcal, 11.63 MWh), the nominal heat content of one tonne of crude oil, used in energy balances.
- MMBtu
One million British thermal units (1.05506 GJ, 293.07 kWh); the standard pricing unit for natural gas and LNG in the United States and Asia.
- BTU (British thermal unit)
A traditional unit of heat, approximately the energy needed to raise one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit; 1 BTU (IT) = 1,055.06 J.
- Natural gas
A fossil fuel composed mainly of methane, used for power generation, industrial and residential heat, and as a chemical feedstock for hydrogen and ammonia.
- Calorific value (HHV / LHV)
The heat released by complete combustion of a unit quantity of fuel; the higher (gross) value includes condensation heat of water vapour, the lower (net) value excludes it.