Question

On an energy basis, if I have 3,000 mcf of natural gas, what is the oil equivalent of that?

a) 500 barrels
b) 1,000 barrels
c) 1,500 barrels
d) 2,000 barrels

Answer 1

The oil equivalent of 3,000 mcf of natural gas is approximately 517 barrels of oil, so the closest answer is 500 barrels. This is calculated by comparing the energy content of natural gas with that of crude oil using Btu as the common unit of measure.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the oil equivalent of 3,000 mcf of natural gas, we need to understand the energy content of both fuels and convert between them. One mcf (thousand cubic feet) of natural gas contains roughly 1,000,000 Btu of energy. A barrel of crude oil approximates 5.8 million Btu. Using these values, we can do the following calculation:

3,000 mcf of natural gas = 3,000 x 1,000,000 Btu/mcf = 3,000,000,000 Btu total.

Then, to get the equivalent in barrels of oil:

3,000,000,000 Btu ÷ 5.8 million Btu/barrel = approximately 517 barrels of oil.

Therefore, the closest answer would be a) 500 barrels as it is the nearest option without going over the calculated amount. Note that for simplicity, this calculation assumes a direct conversion and does not take into account energy losses or gains during the conversion processes between natural gas and oil.