Volume units used in petroleum engineering
 | This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. (September 2007) |
In petroleum engineering, the following volume units are used:
| Unit | Thousand | Million | Billion (10E9) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| cubic meter | m3 | E3m3 | E6m3 | |
| barrel | bbl | Mbbl (Kbbl is also used at Santos but is generally avoided.) |
MMbbl | |
| Standard cubic feet | scf | Mscf | MMscf | Bcf |
Conversion factors:
- Oil conversion factor from m³ to bbl(or stb) is 6.28981100
- from m³ to Mbbl is 6.28981100E-3
- from m³ to MMbbl is 6.28981100E-6
- Gas conversion factor from standard m³ to Bcf is 35.493710E-9
- from m³ to MMscf is 35.493710E-6
- from m³ to Mscf is 35.493710E-3
Note that the m³ gas conversion factor takes into account a difference in the standard temperature base for measurement of gas volumes in metric and imperial units. The standard temperature for metric measurement is 15 degrees Celsius (i.e. 59 degrees Fahrenheit) while for English measurement, the standard temperature is 60 °F. Gas undergoes a slight expansion when the temperature is raised from 15 °C (59 °F) to 60 °F. This expansion is built into the above factor for gas.
The standard temperature and pressure (STP) for gas varies depending on the particular code being used. A good discussion can be found on http://www.chemeurope.com/lexikon/e/Standard_conditions_for_temperature_and_pressure/ . It is just as important to know the standard pressure as the temperature. Formerly, OPEC used 101.325 kPa (14.696 psia) but now the standard is 101.560 kPa (14.73 psia).
