Progress for the Uinta Basin Railway Brings Uinta Production Back into Focus

The Uinta Basin Railway is a proposed project to increase the volume of Uinta waxy crude oil that can be produced and moved out of the Uinta Basin to refining demand on the Gulf Coast. The project has been challenged in courts, but a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court cleared some of the hurdles, allowing the project to potentially move forward.

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) issued its final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in August 2021. This EIS was subsequently challenged, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the EIS was not sufficient and did not consider upstream activity in the Uinta Basin. In May 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the STB’s EIS met the requirements set out by the National Environmental Policy Act, effectively reopening the door for the project to move forward. Given this development, let’s take a look at what’s going on in the Uinta and its unique resource.

Uinta Wax – a unique type of oil

Uinta waxy crude is low in sulfur, metals, and nitrogen and is capable of being directly refined in fluid catalytic crackers (FCC) due to its high gasoil content. Ultimately, Uinta wax allows refineries to generate higher yields of gasoline and diesel. The caveat with this type of oil is that it solidifies at ambient atmospheric temperatures and must be heated to liquid form to be transported. Thus, the need to rail or truck the crude to refineries. Traditionally, Uinta wax is largely consumed by refineries in the Salt Lake City area, but demand outside of Utah, particularly along the Gulf Coast, is rising.

Uinta production growth has been significant over the last several years, increasing by 19% YoY on average since 2020 and topping 178 Mb/d at the end of 2024. This growth comes on the back of 1) a sharp increase in activity, with wells to sale in 2024 reaching nearly 200; and 2) general improvement in 30-day IP rates through time.

Uinta IP rates & increasing laterals

Average 30-day IP rates for the Uinta Basin are on par with other oil-directed plays. BTU Analytics’ data for 2024 shows IPs reached almost 800 b/d in the first month of production, which is around 100 b/d lower than the 2024 average for the Permian. However, the first month of production in 2022 and 2023 in the Uinta exceeded that of the Permian average for 2024 by almost 100 b/d.

Takeaways

Though production has grown steadily, and 30-day IP rates remain near the average for other oil-directed plays, upside may be capped since there is limited egress out of the basin. As mentioned above, Uinta waxy crude not consumed in basin must be moved via rail or truck, and thus the Uinta Basin Railway is needed to grow production further.

Although the Supreme Court has cleared key environmental hurdles, the Uinta Basin Railway remains years from completion and must sustain its current momentum to move forward. However, if the railway becomes operational, BTU Analytics expects this could open the door for Uinta waxy crude production to materially grow.

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