8-K

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                             Washington, D.C. 20549




                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT

     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934



         Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): May 15, 1998
                                                           ------------


                             PYR Energy Corporation
                             ----------------------
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)



          Delaware                     0-20879                  95-4580642
          --------                     -------                  ----------
(State or other jurisdiction       (Commission File            (IRS Employer
    of incorporation)                  Number)               Identification No.)



                1675 Broadway, Suite 1150, Denver, Colorado 80202
                -------------------------------------------------
              (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)



        Registrant's telephone number, including area code (303) 825-3748
                                                           --------------





Item 5. Other Events.
        ------------

     Press  Release.  The press  release of the  Registrant  dated May 15, 1998,
which is filed as an exhibit hereto, is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 7.  Financial Statements And Exhibits.

     (c) Exhibits.

                                  Exhibit Index

Exhibit
Number            Description
- ------            -----------

99.1              Press release dated May 15, 1998.



                                    SIGNATURE

     Pursuant to the  requirements  of the Securities  Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.


Date:  May 18, 1998                     PYR ENERGY CORPORATION



                                        By:  /s/  Andrew P. Calerich
                                             -----------------------------------
                                             Andrew P. Calerich
                                             Chief Financial Officer

EX-99.1

                                  EXHIBIT 99.1


On May 15, 1998, the Registrant issued the following press release:


           "PYR ENERGY COMMENCES DRILLING CALIFORNIA EXPLORATION WELL

DENVER -- PYR Energy  Corporation  (OTC EBB: PYRX) today  announced the start of
drilling  operations on its Mastiff  Prospect  (East Lost Hills) wildcat well in
Kern County,  California.  PYR Energy has a 10.38% working  interest in the well
and prospect.  The Bellevue  Resources et al #1-17 East Lost Hills well, located
in SE1/4,  Sec 17, T26S,  R21E, is to be drilled to an estimated  total depth of
19,000 feet and is  anticipated  to take  approximately  120 days to reach total
depth. The well is designed to test prospective Miocene sandstone  reservoirs in
the Temblor Formation.

Bellevue Resources Inc., a subsidiary of Elk Point Resources,  Ltd., is operator
of the well. Other participants in the well include:  Armstrong Resources,  LLC,
Berkley Petroleum Corporation,  Ceniarth Inc., Paramount Resources,  Ltd., Prima
Energy  Corporation,  Richland  Petroleum  Corporation,  STB  Energy,  Inc.  and
Westminster Resources, Ltd. PYR Energy and partners control approximately 20,000
net acres of leasehold over the prospect.

PYR  Energy   Corporation   applies  advanced  3-D  seismic  and  computer-aided
exploration  technologies to systematically  explore for and exploit onshore oil
and natural gas accumulations in the western United States.

                                       ###

This  release   contains   forward-looking   statements   regarding  PYR  Energy
Corporation's  future plans and expected  performance  based on assumptions  the
Company  believes to be reasonable.  A number of risks and  uncertainties  could
cause actual  results to differ  materially  from these  statements,  including,
without  limitation,  the success rate of exploration efforts and the timeliness
of development  activities,  fluctuations in oil and gas prices,  and other risk
factors described from time to time in the Company's reports filed with the SEC.
In addition,  the Company operates in an industry sector where securities values
are highly  volatile and may be influenced by economic and other factors  beyond
the Company's control."