BISHOP, CHARLES E., and BRYCE T. TRIPP, Utah Geological Survey, Salt Lake City, UT

ABSTRACT: An Overview of the Tar Sand Resources of Utah

Utah contains 53 shallow tar sand deposits that contain between 19.4 and 29.2 billion bbl of hydrocarbons. This amount is nearly 100 times the total published proven reserves of crude oil in all of Utah. Over 96% of this resource occurs in eight deposits, located in the Uinta basin and in southeastern central Utah.

Five large deposits occur in the Uinta basin: Asphalt Ridge, Sunnyside, Hill Creek, P. R. Spring, and Whiterocks. The Asphalt Ridge tar sand is contained in fluvial deposits of the Mesaverde Group and in distributary-channel deposits in the lower part of the Tertiary Duchesne River Formation. The Sunnyside deposit occurs in stream mouth-bar, point-bar, and channel-fill deposits of the Tertiary Wasatch and lower Green River Formations. The Hill Creek and P. R. Spring deposits occur in lacustrine delta-front sand deposits in the Green River Formation. The Whiterocks deposit occurs in eolian sandstone of the Jurassic Navajo Sandstone.

Three large deposits occur in the central and southeastern part of Utah: San Rafael Swell, Circle Cliffs, and Tar Sand Triangle. The San Rafael Swell and Circle Cliffs deposits are contained in shallow-marine sandstones and siltstones of the Triassic Moenkopi Formation. The Tar Sand Triangle deposit occurs in eolian sandstone of the Permian White Rim Sandstone.

Currently, only small production of tar sand occurs in the state and a low level of research is being done on the deposits due to low oil prices. During the period of high oil prices in the early 1980s, many companies explored these deposits, performed feasibility studies, and developed processes for extracting the oil, but much is still to be learned. New recovery processes may allow future development of this huge resource.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90993©1993 AAPG Rocky Mountain Section Meeting, Salt Lake City, Utah, September 12-15, 1993.