The yield of a barrel of oil

For the first time a barrel of oil costs more than $130. A look at the NYMEX Light Crude Oil contract monthly price chart reveals a closing price at the end of March 1999 of $16.76 with a volume of about 3.5 mln contracts traded during the month. In stark contrast the same product closed at $113.46 on a staggering volume of about 11 mln contracts at the end of April 2008.

Month of:03/31/1999 O=12.35 H=17.05 L=12.18 C=16.76 V=3492519
Month of:04/30/2008 O=99.80 H=119.90 L=99.70 C=113.46 V=10973879

A barrel of oil yields about 44 gallons of various refined products. So where does that oil go?

22.6 gallons of gasoline - enough to drive 622 miles in the average American car
6.7 gallons of diesel - enough to drive 41.7 miles in a tractor-trailer
5.5 gallons of jet fuel - not enough to fly a fully loaded 747 one mile. You'll get about 0.95 miles
2.4 gallons of "still gas," a mixture of gas produced in refineries
2.2 gallons of "marketable coke," a residue used in the production of aluminum anodes, furnace electrodes and liners and shaped graphite products
1.5 gallons of fuel oil, often used for heating or for fueling locomotives, ships and for power generation systems
1.2 gallons of liquefied gas, which is used in heating appliances and vehicles, and replacing chlorofluorocarbons as an aerosol propellant and a refrigerant
0.8 gallons of asphalt
0.4 gallons of lubricants, often placed in greases
0.7 gallons of other products

Real items made from the barrel:
4 pounds of charcoal briquettes 12 cylinders of propane
170 wax birthday candles
A quart of motor oil
Petrochemicals used in the productions of all kinds of pharmaceuticals, plastics, cosmetics and foodstuffs.


source: Where Does That Oil Go?
A Look at What's Inside a Barrel of Oil and What Products Come From It
By DANIEL ARNALL, ABC NEWS Business Unit, February 27, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/story?id=4353789&page=1