Is moving fuel by pipeline lower carbon than by tanker truck?
Usually yes per tonne-kilometre, because pumps move far more fuel per unit of energy than trucks burning diesel. The pipeline operator counts its pumping power and fuel. A fuel buyer usually finds this transport inside the fuel's upstream emissions, Scope 3 Category 3, unless it pays for transport separately.
Who counts it
- Pipeline operator: Scope 2 for pumping electricity, Scope 1 for any fuel burned at stations.
- Tanker operator: Scope 1 diesel.
- Buyer: Category 3 well-to-tank, or Category 4 if you pay for transport separately.
Get a figure
Ask the operator for energy per tonne-kilometre. For trucks, use litres of diesel per trip at 2.68 kg CO2 per litre.
What Senseible does here
Senseible reads bills, fuel invoices and production records into dated, fingerprinted records, so the figure you send a buyer can be traced to its documents.
Sources: Smart Freight Centre, GLEC Framework, GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard
Last reviewed 2026-10-22.