Today, the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (Go Utah) awarded Heavy Sweet Oil, LLC a temporary, marginal tax reduction for its expansion in rural Utah. The post-performance corporate incentive is part of the Legislature’s Rural Economic Development Tax Increment Financing (REDTIF) program.
As part of the agreement, Heavy Sweet Oil plans to bring up to 213 new high-paying jobs and invest $330 million in rural Utah during the next 10 years.
“We are excited to see Greenfield Energy and Heavy Sweet Oil growing in the Uintah Basin,” said Dan Hemmert, the Office of Economic Opportunity’s executive director. “Energy independence has never been more important to the nation, and we are proud to support this joint venture which will provide significant investment into rural Utah. We’re also pleased to see both companies’ innovative processes, aggressive carbon sequestration, and efforts to be carbon neutral — from well to tailpipe.”
Heavy Sweet Oil intends to sell a range of petroleum products having a substantially reduced carbon footprint and near-zero sulfur, including a blended biodiesel product to the shipping industry, asphalt cement for roads and infrastructure, and specialty chemicals to industry. The company has an agreement with TomCo Energy, which assists with permitting and government relations.
“Heavy Sweet Oil is extremely excited to develop our project in the state of Utah, especially in rural Utah. It is there that we believe we can make the largest positive impacts with our investment and operations,” said Steven Byle, chairman of Heavy Sweet Oil. “We have developed a world-class team to develop this major asset. In fact, we have relocated our entire operations and management team to Utah to advance this project for decades to come. Together with the other producers in the basin, we believe that Utah will be established in the years to come as a major player in the U.S. energy economy. We further intend to show our appreciation to the state and local communities by giving back over time through building recreational, wildlife, and community infrastructure as we move forward together.”
Heavy Sweet Oil may receive up to 50% of the additional state taxes it will pay over the 10-year life of the agreement in the form of a Utah Legislature-authorized Rural Economic Development Tax Increment Financing (REDTIF) tax credit (U.C.A. 63N-2-106(2)). Each year Heavy Sweet Oil meets the criteria in its contract with the state, it will qualify for a portion of the total tax credit.
“While our involvement in this expansion project was limited, we welcome Greenfield Energy and Heavy Sweet Oil to Utah’s energy industry,” said Theresa A. Foxley, president and CEO of EDCUtah. “These two companies are innovating the extraction process and moving the industry to more sustainable methods.”
Original source can be found here.
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