21, 22 Utah's crude oil production declined sharply in 2020 following the drop in petroleum demand and oil prices at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the state's output recovered in 2022 and reached a new high. 20 Oil drilling operations and producing wells are concentrated in the Uinta Basin in northeastern Utah and the Paradox Basin of southeastern Utah. Utah accounts for almost 1 in every 100 barrels of crude oil produced in the United States and 15 of every 100 barrels produced in the Rocky Mountain region. Utah accounts for 15 of every 100 barrels of crude oil produced in the Rocky Mountain region. 17 However, extraction technology for the state's oil shale and oil sand resources is water-intensive and uneconomic. 16 In addition to conventional crude oil reservoirs, northeastern Utah overlays part of the Green River oil shale, a potential oil resource. Utah has 1% of the nation's proved crude oil reserves. Utah's energy intensity-the amount of energy needed to produce each dollar of state gross domestic product (GDP)-is less than in two-thirds of the states. 12, 13 The state's economy is largely service-oriented with finance, insurance, and real estate as the biggest contributors, followed by government spending, professional and business services, and the manufacturing sector. Utah ranks among the 10 states with the lowest per capita energy consumption in the residential sector. 11 Despite temperatures that vary greatly with season and altitude, ranging from well above 100☏ in the south in the summer to well below 0☏ in winter at higher elevations in the north, per capita energy consumption in Utah is below the national average and less than in two-thirds of the states. The residential sector and the commercial sector each account for about one-fifth of the state's total end-use sector energy consumption. The transportation sector leads Utah's energy consumption, accounting for three-tenths of the state's total, followed by the industrial sector at slightly more than one-fourth. 9 Utah has the fourth-highest number of producing crude oil and natural gas leases on federal lands, after New Mexico, Wyoming, and Colorado. 8 About 63% of Utah's land is owned by the federal government, the second-highest share after Nevada's 80%. The energy industry is an important component of Utah's economy and royalties from energy development on extensive state trust lands typically are the largest source of income for Utah's public-school trust fund. 6 Although Utah was the fastest-growing state by population between 20, most of the state is sparsely populated. 5 About 80% of Utah's residents live in Salt Lake City and other communities along the Wasatch Front in the north-central part of the state. 3, 4 Wind, hydropower, and geothermal resources are also major contributors to the state's electricity generation from renewables. 2 An arid state with abundant sunshine, Utah is among the states with the greatest solar resources. 1 The state has a variety of energy resources, including crude oil, natural gas, coal, and several forms of renewable energy. Utah is a state of contrasts, from flat salt desert to rugged canyons, and from mountains soaring more than 13,000 feet above sea level in the northeast to the desert floor 9,000 feet lower in the southwest. Utah has both fossil and renewable energy resources and is a net energy supplier to neighboring states.
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