Öläquivalent

Öläquivalent is a conventional energy unit used to express and compare the energy content of fuels and energy resources. It is defined as the amount of energy contained in one metric tonne of crude oil, and it is used in energy statistics as a non-SI unit to facilitate cross-fuel comparisons.

Definition and conversions: one Öläquivalent (ÖE) is approximately 41.868 gigajoules (GJ). Because the energy content of crude oil varies by grade, the precise value can differ slightly in practice. For reference, a barrel of crude oil stores about 5.8 GJ of energy, which places one Öläquivalent at roughly 7.2 barrels of oil (BOE). In electrical terms, one Öläquivalent is about 11.63 megawatt-hours (MWh). These conversions are approximate and depend on the specific oil quality and measurement basis used.

Usage and context: Öläquivalent is employed in national and international energy balances to compare energy supply and demand across fuels, such as oil, natural gas, coal, and renewables. It appears alongside other common energy units like toe (tonne of oil equivalent) and BOE. The unit is not part of the International System of Units (SI) and is mainly used for consistency in historical datasets and regional reports.

Limitations: because crude oil grades vary in density and energy content, Öläquivalent values serve as practical approximations rather than exact measures. When precision is required, analysts may specify the oil basis or use alternative units and explicit energy conversion factors.

See also: tonne of oil equivalent, barrel of oil equivalent, energy balance, energy unit.