SEC Form 4
FORM 4 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
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 Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person*
LARSEN JOHN L
(Last) (First) (Middle)
877 NORTH 8TH WEST
(Street)
RIVERTON WY 82501
(City) (State) (Zip)
2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
US ENERGY CORP [ USEG ] 		5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
X Director 10% Owner
X Officer (give title below) Other (specify below)
Chairman and CEO
3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year)
01/03/2005
4. If Amendment, Date of Original Filed (Month/Day/Year)
 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line)
X Form filed by One Reporting Person
Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
1. Title of Security (Instr. 3) 2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) 2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) 3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8) 4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed Of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5) 5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4) 6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4) 7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
Code V Amount (A) or (D) Price
U.S. Energy Common Stock 01/03/2005 J 2,500 A(1) $0 627,744 D(2)(3)(4)(5)
U.S. Energy Common Stock 812,915 I(6)(7)(8) By Corporation
U.S. Energy Common Stock 116,558 I(9) By Immediate Family
U.S. Energy Common Stock 155,811 I(10) By Trust
Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
(e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3) 2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) 3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) 4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8) 5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5) 6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year) 7. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 3 and 4) 8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5) 9. Number of derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4) 10. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4) 11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
Code V (A) (D) Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares
Employee Option 1 (Right to Buy) $2.88 12/04/1998 09/05/2008 U.S. Energy Common Stock 34,782 34,782(11) D
Employee Option 1a (Right to Buy) $2 12/04/1998 09/25/2008 U.S. Energy Common Stock 77,718 77,718(11) D
Employee Option 2 (Right to Buy) $2.4 01/10/2001 01/09/2011 U.S. Energy Common Stock 184,400 184,400(11) D
Employee Option 3 (Right to Buy) $3.9 12/07/2001 12/06/2011 U.S. Energy Common Stock 100,000 100,000(12) D
Employee Option 4 (Right to Buy) $2.25 08/08/2002 12/07/2011 U.S. Energy Common Stock 97,000 97,000(12) D
Employee Option 5 (Right to Buy) $2.46 07/01/2004 06/30/2014 U.S. Energy Common Stock 125,000 125,000(12) D
Explanation of Responses:
1. Shares issued to the Reporting Person under the USEG 2001 Stock Compensation Plan. The issuance of these shares is for the funding obligation under the plan for the first quarter of the calendar year ending December 31, 2005. The Issuer has agreed under the terms of the Plan to pay all taxes due. The Reporting Person has agreed not to sell these shares to the market or pledge them on obligations until after his (i) retirement; (ii) total disability or (iii) in the case of the death of the Reporting Person his estate may sell the shares of stock.
2. Includes 416,513 shares contributed by the Reporting Person and the Reporting Person's Wife into a Family Limited Partnership.
3. Includes 500 shares held in a street name account for the benefit of the Reporting Person.
4. Includes 58,031 shares held in an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) for the benefit of the Reporting Person.
5. Includes 32,700 shares issued under the Restricted Stock Bonus Plan and 120,000 shares issued under the 1996 Stock Award program all of which are subject to forfeiture by the Reporting Person. Shares issued under the 1996 Stock Award program vest over a 5-year period at the rate of 20% per year, The forfeitable shares issued under both plans are deemed 'earned out' by the Reporting Person: (i) if he is continuously employed by USEG until he retires; (ii) if he becomes disabled; (iii) upon his death, or (iv) if the shares are claimed within three years following the occurrence of (i) (ii) (iii). The treasurer of USEG holds the shares in trust for the benefit of the Reporting Person, while non-employee directors of USEG exercise shared voting and dispositive rights over all forfeitable shares. The acquisitions of the shares by the Reporting Person from both the Bonus Plan and the Award Program are exempt under Rule 16b-3.
6. Includes 512,359 shares held by Crested Corp. (Crested), a majority-owned subsidiary of USEG. The Reporting Person is an Officer and/or Director of both USEG and Crested and is not a controlling shareholder and does not have or share investment controll over these shares, and therefore does not have a pecuniary interest in the USEG shares held by Crested, under rule 16a-1(a)(2)(iii).
7. Includes 175,000 shares held by Sutter Gold Mining Company (SGMC), a subsidiary of USEG. The Reporting Person is an Officer and/or Director of both USEG and SGMC and is not a controlling shareholder and does not have or share investment controll over these shares, and therefore does not have a pecuniary interest in the USEG shares held by SGMC, under rule 16a-1(a)(2)(iii).
8. Includes 125,556 shares held by Plateau Resources Limited (Plateau), a wholly owned subsidiary of USEG. The Reporting Person is an Officer and/or Director of both USEG and Plateau and is not a controlling shareholder and does not have or share investment controll over these shares, and therefore does not have a pecuniary interest in the USEG shares held by Plateau, under rule 16a-1(a)(2)(iii).
9. Includes a balance of shares held in ESOP accounts established to benefit members of the Reporting Persons 'Immediate Family', as that term is defined in Rule 16a-1(e), in accordance with Rule 16a-8(b)(2).
10. Includes shares held in the ESOP which are not allocated to accounts established for the benefit of specific plan participants. The Reporting Person, as an ESOP Trustee, exercises the voting powers with respect to such unallocated shares.
11. Includes stock options granted under the Issuer's 1998 Incentive Stock Option Plan and exempt under Rule 16b-3.
12. Includes stock options granted under the Issuer's 2001 Incentive Stock Option Plan and exempt under Rule 16b-3.
Remarks:
By: Robert Scott Lorimer Attorney in Fact 01/04/2005
** Signature of Reporting Person Date
Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4 (b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
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