The oil shale industry and a prominent Estonian oil shale company have officially expressed support for the railway, which would lower the cost of getting unconventional oils — derived from tar sands and oil shale — to market. 

 

These fuels are some of the most energy and carbon intensive in the world. They wreak havoc on the landscape and the climate, and in the end produce oils that are not appealing to refiners. While they are difficult, expensive and dirty to produce, if oil prices increase speculative ventures will ramp up attempts to get them to market and the Uinta Basin Railway would help those efforts.