According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the average fuel efficiency of a passenger car in the United States is about 25 miles per gallon (mpg). This means that a car can travel 25 miles on one gallon of fuel.
One barrel of oil contains 42 gallons of oil. Therefore, 1.5 million barrels of oil contain 1.5 million × 42 = 63 million gallons of oil.
If each car can travel 25 miles on one gallon of fuel, then 63 million gallons of oil can fuel 63 million × 25 = 1.575 billion miles.
Assuming that the average car travels about 12,000 miles per year, then 1.575 billion miles is enough to fuel 1.575 billion / 12,000 = 131,250 cars for one year.
Therefore, 1.5 million barrels of oil can fuel about 131,250 cars for one year.
