Oil Sand deposits exist throughout Eastern Utah. The challenge is working with Bureau of Land Management to issue permits on public lands. The frustration for Uintah County is that congress asked the BLM to enter into commercial leasing agreements with oil shale and oil sand companies and to date the BLM has not made any agreements.
It may be that the BLM is waiting to see if Oil Sand Development is a viable industry. The current operations that are gearing up are setting up on lands leased from the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration.