Overview

Resources and Consumption

Utah has substantial fossil energy resources. Three major basins in the eastern part of the State contain coal, natural gas, and oil reserves, including three of the nation’s 100 largest oil fields and two of its 100 largest natural gas fields. Utah also has substantial renewable energy potential; areas with geothermal, wind, and solar power potential cover much of the State. Utah’s population is low, as is its total energy consumption. The transportation and industrial sectors lead State energy demand.

Petroleum

Utah typically accounts for approximately 1 percent of annual U.S. crude oil production. Drilling operations and oil wells are concentrated in the Uinta and Paradox basins in eastern Utah. The State’s five refineries, located in the Salt Lake City area, process crude oil from Utah and other Mountain States. The Frontier Pipeline also supplies those refineries with crude oil imports from Canada. Two petroleum product pipelines serve the Salt Lake City area: petroleum products are delivered to Utah from refineries in Wyoming and Montana via the Pioneer Pipeline, and the other pipeline, operated by Chevron, flows out of Salt Lake City refining centers to supply markets in Idaho, eastern Oregon, and eastern Washington State. Total petroleum consumption in the State is low. Utah requires the use of a motor gasoline blend with low volatility in the Salt Lake City area and the use of oxygenated motor gasoline during the winter months in the Provo/Orem area; the rest of the State uses conventional motor gasoline.

Although its proven crude oil reserves only account for just over 1 percent of the U.S. total, Utah has enormous deposits of oil shale rock, known as marlstone, which can be converted into crude oil through destructive distillation. The Green River Formation, a group of basins in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah, holds the largest known oil shale deposits in the world. Utah’s oil shale deposits are concentrated in the Uinta Basin in the east-central part of the State. Although this natural resource holds tremendous promise, oil shale development remains speculative and faces several major obstacles involving technological feasibility, economic viability, resource ownership, and environmental considerations. Utah’s oil shale resources are smaller than those found in Colorado and Wyoming, but much of the State’s high-grade deposits are located close to the surface in thick seams.

Natural Gas

Utah’s natural gas production, concentrated in the Uinta Basin, typically accounts for nearly 2 percent of annual U.S. output. Coalbed methane (unconventional natural gas produced from coal seams) accounts for more than one-fourth of Utah’s natural gas production. Although more than four-fifths of its households use natural gas as their primary energy source for home heating, Utah consumes only about one-half of its own production. The remainder is transported to other States. The Kern River Gas Transmission Pipeline from Opal Hub in Wyoming transports natural gas through the Salt Lake City area to markets in Southern California.

Coal, Electricity, and Renewables

Utah typically accounts for more than 2 percent of annual U.S. coal production. More than one-half of Utah’s coal production is consumed for electricity generation within the State. Utah’s surplus coal is shipped by rail primarily to Nevada and California.

Although natural gas-fired and hydroelectric generators also contribute to the State’s grid, coal-fired power plants dominate electricity generation in Utah and supply almost the entire market. With two operational geothermal facilities, Utah is one of the few States with electricity generation from geothermal power sources, although that source contributes minimally to State supply. Utah electricity demand is low, and approximately one-tenth of Utah households use electricity as their primary energy source for home heating.