The cubic metre (or cubic meter; US spelling) is a unit of volume and is derived from an SI unit with the symbol m³.
1 cubic metre is exactly 1000 litres. It is also ≈ 6.29 barrels, ≈ 220 imperial gallons and ≈ 35.3 cubic feet.
1 cubic metre of water in normal conditions (≈4 °C) weighs exactly 1000 kg (or 1 tonne).)
The cubic metre is the unit used to measure water usage and often water bills are broken down into how many m³ has passed through the property / business.
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.