Do Ya Think I’m Waxy

In just a few years, the Uinta Basin in northeastern Utah has been transformed from a quirky, waxy-crude curiosity with only modest production to a burgeoning unconventional play with output north of 180 Mb/d and initial production (IP) rates that compare favorably with the best wells in the Permian. But while Uinta producers have “cracked the code” for producing increasing volumes of waxy crude from horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, there are serious questions about how much further the basin’s output can grow and how long large production volumes can be sustained.

With the aim of addressing the Uinta’s long-term staying power, our friends at Novi Labs developed a data-based, machine-learning-enhanced analysis of the Uinta’s all-important Uteland Butte and (Upper and Lower) Castle Peak benches’ prospects to determine how much waxy crude is likely to be produced under various price scenarios. As we discuss in detail in this Drill Down Report, Novi’s data and analysis suggest that the Uinta is likely to remain a hot spot for drilling and has many highly productive years ahead of it.

The Drill Down Report also provides a short history of Uinta Basin production, more information about waxy crude’s characteristics, and a summary of other recent — and notable — developments.

Key takeaways from the report include:

• Uinta waxy crude has many positive qualities, including ‘sweet-spot’ API gravity and low sulfur content
• But waxy crude is a semi-solid at ambient temperatures; it needs heated storage, special tanker trucks and railcars
• Salt Lake City refineries can only take so much waxy crude; the rest needs to be railed away
• Despite the many challenges, Uinta production has been soaring, spurring development of new infrastructure
• The key questions now are, how much more can Uinta production increase and how long will the resource last?

“Do Ya Think I’m Waxy?” is included in RBN Energy’s 2025 Drill Down report series, a suite of reports covering many of the key issues expected to impact the markets for crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Drill Down reports are part of RBN Backstage Pass™ premium resources that also include Blog Archive Access, Spotcheck Indicators, Market Fundamentals Webcasts, Get-Togethers and more. By subscribing to RBN’s Backstage Pass™ Premium Services, you plug into our network and get direct access to our premium resources.