Public misconceptions on crude oil prices

Feb. 4, 2002
There are 42 US gallons in a barrel of oil. A price increase of $4/bbl represents only a 10?/gal increase..virtually nil to the average US consumer.

There are 42 US gallons in a barrel of oil. A price increase of $4/bbl represents only a 10¢/gal increase..virtually nil to the average US consumer. Few Americans outside the oil industry are aware of how critical a $4/bbl ($0.10/gal) price difference can be to the many small US oil field operators and to many oil producing nations-namely the difference between bankruptcy and survival. Taxes are much or most of gasoline's price all over the world.

L. F. Ivanhoe
Ojai, Calif.