Status of tar sand exploitation in the U.S.

Although the United States does not have tar sand deposits which compare in size with Canada and Venezuela, you have just heard in Mr. Ritzma's paper that there are several deposits of considerable size in the state of Utah. Tar sand deposits have been located in a majority of the states, but it appears there are very few of commercial significance outside of Utah. From the standpoint of a mining and surface extraction operation, the Asphalt Ridge deposits near Vernal in the Uintah Basin in northeast Utah contain what is probably the most accessible major deposit in the United States. Sohio Petroleum Company owns most of the land on which there is mineable tar sand on Asphalt Ridge. The current activity on Asphalt Ridge will be discussed later in this paper.