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Whale Oil Facts

Whale oil, along with coal, natural gas and petroleum, has the ability to produce energy. In the 1800s, however, whaling ships almost eliminated this natural resource by fishing whales nearly to extinction. Starting in the 1930s, the International Whaling Conventions got together to put sizing and gender limits on catches. They also worked for partial and total protection of certain species. Although some whaling ships paid no attention to the rules, many did, especially the ones carrying official observers. Today, whale oil is almost never used, but it played a big part in fuel history.

First Use
- Whale oil, first used in the 1700s, illuminated candles as wax and provided fuel for lamps, according to the Petroleum History Institute. Later, people found many more uses for whale oil. Soaps, clothing and lubricant products contained this type of oil. One of the main uses for whale oil was as a clock lubricant, states National Geographic.
Types
- Sperm whale oil has a neutral odor, and glows brighter than oils from right whales, states the Petroleum History Institute. By 1859, more whaling ships looked for sperm whales than any other whale. Although some species weighed more, they didn't produce the quality oil like the sperm whales.
Head Oil
- Oil from the head produced the highest quality oil. This came from the junk and case chambers and typically supplied between six to eight barrels per sperm whale, according to the Petroleum History Institute. The case is the biggest organ in the head and contains spermaceti oil. The junk chamber lies beneath the case and contains spermaceti oil as well as tissue. Some people kept this head oil separate from blubber oil because the quality was so much better.
Blubber Oil
- Oil from the blubber was of the second-best quality. Blubber produced more oil than any other part of the whale. On some parts of a whale's body, blubber lays 18 inches thick. An average sperm whale produced between 25 and 40 barrels of oil total. That means about 18 to 33 barrels came from the blubber alone.
Price
- Like modern fuel prices, whale oil prices rose and fell during its heyday. Beginning in 1831, whale oil cost a little more than 30 cents per half gallon. Thirty-five years later, in 1866, a half gallon cost about $1.28, according to the Petroleum History Institute. This rise happened due to the Civil War and a depleting supply with increasing demand.

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