The Uintah Basin Energy Summit was hosted at the Uintah Conference Center in Vernal on Aug. 28 and 29. Carbon County Commissioner Tony Martines was one of the attendees of this summit and remarked that one of the main focuses was the Uintah Basin Railroad project.
Commissioner Martines learned even more about the project than before, stating that a large sum of money, estimated between 1.2 and 1.5 billion, will be private monies. None of the money for the project will be federal or state.
With the growth, it is anticipated that after the first quarter of 2020, the environmental impact studies will begin. If all goes well, construction will officially begin in the beginning of 2021. A 3.1 mile tunnel, which will take around 565 days to complete, will be constructed and the railroad itself will be completed with miles per day.
The plan as of now is to begin at the park and come back through the tunnel with the “Golden Spike” moment taking place by the tunnel.
A lot of the other companies in attendance, such as Crescent Point and other big oil manufacturers in the basin, have big plans for once the railroad is completed. It will mean that they finally have the ability to transfer the crude oil out to the market.
Those companies are looking at large expansions with the railroad such as rigs, truck drivers, office personnel and more.
Dr. Laura Nelson was one of the speakers during the summit and spoke on the oil energy industry, a large industry in the state, with over 60,000 high paying jobs. They are all in favor of the railroad and what it can bring to the state.
Other projects that can benefit Utah were also discussed, such as the Jordan Cove project in Oregon and a pipeline that would expand from Utah to Mexico. It would be a 42 to 48 inch pipeline.
Other speakers were the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the National Oil Shale Association, TriCounty Health and more. Shootouts and golf tournaments were also hosted in conjunction with the summit.
For more information on the Uintah Basin Railway Project, please click here.