Energy & Natural Resources
The Gardner Institute provides energy decision support to state policy makers. We produce economic impact studies of Utah’s energy sector, forecast Utah’s energy production, and assess energy infrastructure expansion across the sate and within the Uintah Basin. We convene the Gardner Institute’s Energy Advisory Council comprised of representatives from upstream and downstream oil and gas, renewable energy, mining, utilities, and the Governor’s Office of Energy Development.
COVID-19’s Impacts on Utah’s Oil & Gas Industry
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the oil and gas sector was caught unprepared for the global shock of diminished energy demand by shelter-in-place and stay-at-home policies. At the same time, two OPEC+ members battling for market share oversupplied global energy markets, creating an unanticipated energy supply shock and sending crude oil prices into a tailspin. These combined shocks threatened the viability of oil and gas companies lacking the robust balance sheets needed to remain solvent until normal market conditions return.
Economic Impacts of Utah’s Energy Industry, 2017
Utah’s diverse energy industry plays a significant role in the state’s economy. It encompasses traditional fossil fuels and renewable resources. The mining sector produces crude oil, natural gas, and coal. Power producers generate electricity from hydropower, geothermal, solar, wind, and biomass resources and distribute it within the state and across the western U.S. Five refineries process crude oil from Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and Canada, and Utah has the only licensed and operating uranium mill in the country. Dozens of firms manufacture machinery for mining and the oil and gas fields as well as turbines, generators, transformers, and other electrical equipment.[...]