What emission factor should I use for LDO, LSHS or HSD on a fuel invoice?
Use the IPCC gas or diesel oil factor for HSD and LDO, which are distillates: 74,100 kg CO2 per TJ, or about 3.19 kg CO2 per kg. Use the residual fuel oil factor for LSHS: 77,400 kg CO2 per TJ, or about 3.13 kg CO2 per kg. Convert litres to kg with the refiner's density.
Which IPCC fuel each Indian product name maps to
- HSD (high speed diesel): gas or diesel oil. Per litre, 2.68 kg CO2 is the usual working figure.
- LDO (light diesel oil): a distillate used in furnaces and some engines. Use gas or diesel oil, but by mass, because LDO is denser than HSD.
- LSHS (low sulphur heavy stock): a heavy residue, waxy at room temperature and sold by the tonne. Use residual fuel oil.
- Furnace oil: residual fuel oil, 2.97 kg CO2 per litre at an assumed 0.95 kg per litre.
From the energy factor to kg CO2 per kg
The 2006 IPCC Guidelines give CO2 per unit of energy. To get CO2 per kg, multiply by the net calorific value. Gas or diesel oil: 74,100 kg CO2 per TJ x 43.0 TJ per Gg = 3,186 kg CO2 per tonne. Residual fuel oil: 77,400 x 40.4 = 3,127 kg CO2 per tonne. Methane and nitrous oxide at the IPCC Table 2.3 defaults for manufacturing industries (3 kg CH4 and 0.6 kg N2O per TJ for oil) add about 0.3 percent with AR5 GWPs, so most inventories report these fuels as CO2.
Using the refiner's calorific value
If the refiner's product sheet or test certificate gives a calorific value, you can use it instead of the IPCC default: kg CO2 = tonnes x NCV in GJ per tonne x 74.1 for distillates or 77.4 for residual oil. Check whether the figure is gross or net. IPCC factors are per net calorific value, and for oil the net value is about 5 percent lower than the gross. To convert kcal per kg to GJ per tonne, multiply by 0.0041868.
Why a per litre diesel factor is wrong for LDO
The 2.68 kg CO2 per litre figure assumes the density of road diesel. LDO is heavier, so a litre holds more carbon. Convert litres to kg with the density printed on the invoice or test certificate, then apply the per kg factor. Invoices in kL at 15 C should be paired with the density at 15 C.
Worked example: two refinery fuel invoices
- LSHS: 20 MT x 3.127 t CO2 per t = 62.5 t CO2 (IPCC default NCV)
- Same invoice with a refiner NCV of 9,800 kcal per kg: 9,800 x 0.0041868 = 41.03 GJ per t; 20 x 41.03 x 77.4 = 63,515 kg, about 63.5 t CO2
- LDO: 10 kL at 0.870 kg per litre (test certificate) = 8,700 kg x 3.186 = 27,718 kg, about 27.7 t CO2
- Same LDO at the diesel per litre figure: 10,000 x 2.68 = 26,800 kg, about 3 percent too low
The density and NCV here are illustrative. Use the figures on your own invoice or test certificate.
What Senseible does here
Senseible reads fuel invoices and applies IPCC 2006 based factors: HSD as diesel at 2.68 kg CO2 per litre, and furnace oil, including LSHS named on the invoice, at 2.97 kg CO2 per litre. Every figure keeps its factor and source, and a line whose unit or density needs a different basis is flagged for review against your test certificate.
- Diesel kg to litres conversion
- Furnace oil emission factor
- Diesel emission factor
- HSN codes for fuels in Scope 1
Sources: 2006 IPCC Guidelines, Volume 2 Energy, Chapter 1 Tables 1.2 and 1.4 and Chapter 2 Tables 2.2 and 2.3
Last reviewed 2026-10-18.