The formation of sticky and hard asphaltene deposits in wellbores and flowlines is a severe and chronic problem that compromises oil productivity. One tangible solution that is gaining increased attention is to modify the interaction energy of surfaces such that would hinder deposition. While numerous studies have attempted to characterize mineral deposits in terms of surface energy, only a few investigations have performed similar studies for asphaltene deposition. In this study, asphaltene deposition on different substrates/coatings was analyzed from the interaction energy perspective. The surface energy components have been calculated using the van Oss approach and the respective adhesion energy was determined using the XDLVO theory. To do so, the adhesion energy was calculated for the interacting system of surface, asphaltene, and crude oil. The propensity of ten different substrates/coatings to deposition has been discerned for three crude oil samples of Z-55, K-42, R-95. The electron donor sub-component of the surface energy of crude oil was found to profoundly dominate the deposition of asphaltene on various investigated surfaces. The results also showed that different surfaces have distinct deposition affinity with respect to each crude oil. Thus, while a surface can be asphaltene-repellent for a specific crude oil, it could have affinity to deposition for another crude oil. Available data points from the field were also used to validate the obtained results.