The barrel is a unit of volume used in the oil industry with the symbol bbl.
Oil is more commonly expressed in terms of cubic metres (m³) but in the US and in the economic world (mainly because such a large percentage of the world's oil is shipped to the US) as barrels.
The measurement of the barrel originated in the US at the first oil well in Pennsylvania. There were so many variants of barrel size (including those used for wine and other goods) that the distrust became so prevalent a central and standard barrel size was created. This was finally established in 1872 as 42 US gallons.
The register ton is a unit of volume in the shipping world and uses the symbol GRT.
1 register ton is equal to 100 ft³ or 2.832 m³.
The register ton is used in shipping to measure the amount of cargo on a vessel. The phrase is often mistaken for a unit of mass or weight because of the term 'ton' but should not be confused.