Convert Barrel (Oil) (bbl (oil)) to Hogshead (hogshead) instantly.
About these units
Barrel (Oil) (bbl (oil))
An oil barrel is defined as 42 US gallons, or 158.987 liters, and is a fundamental unit in the petroleum industry. This peculiar size traces back to the early Pennsylvania oil fields, where producers standardized whiskey barrels and modified wooden casks for oil transport. The need for consistent trade volumes cemented the 42-gallon barrel as the industry norm. Today, global oil production, pricing, and consumption are expressed in barrels—from daily OPEC reports to energy market forecasts. Even though oil is no longer physically shipped in barrels, the unit remains deeply embedded in international energy economics.
Hogshead (hogshead)
A hogshead is a traditional barrel volume whose size varied by commodity, region, and era. In British and colonial American contexts, a hogshead for beer or ale was commonly 54 imperial gallons, while for wine it was 63 gallons. Hogsheads were central to colonial commerce, especially in the tobacco trade, where standardized hogsheads—large wooden barrels—became essential for shipping cured leaves across the Atlantic. These giant casks often doubled as storage containers, shipping crates, and even temporary furniture. While the hogshead is not used in modern measurement, it occupies a prominent place in historical literature, trade records, and maritime archaeology. Its enduring cultural footprint reflects the importance of cooperage (barrel-making) in pre-industrial economies.