UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 4
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP
( ) Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16.
Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instructions 1(b).
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person
EVANS, MAX T.
877 NORTH 8TH WEST
RIVERTON, WY 82501
USA
2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
U.S. ENERGY CORP.
USEG
3. IRS or Social Security Number of Reporting Person (Voluntary)
4. Statement for Month/Year
DECEMBER 1998
5. If Amendment, Date of Original (Month/Year)
6. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable)
( ) Director (X) 10% Owner (X) Officer (give title below) ( ) Other
(specify below)
SECRETARY
7. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line)
(X) Form filed by One Reporting Person
( ) Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
<TABLE>
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Table I -- Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned |
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1. Title of Security |2. |3. |4.Securities Acquired (A) |5.Amount of |6.Dir |7.Nature of Indirect |
| Transaction | or Disposed of (D) | Securities |ect | Beneficial Ownership |
| | | | Beneficially |(D)or | |
| | | | | A/| | Owned at |Indir | |
| Date |Code|V| Amount | D | Price | End of Month |ect(I)| |
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<S> <C> <C> <C><C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
$.01 PAR VALUE COMMON S|N/A | | |NONE | |N/A |53,255 |D (a) | |
TOCK | | | | | | | | | |
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$.01 PAR VALUE COMMON S|N/A | | |NONE | |N/A |30,286 |D (b) | |
TOCK | | | | | | | | | |
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$.01 PAR VALUE COMMON S|N/A | | |NONE | |N/A |6,344 |I (c) |Son's ESOP |
TOCK | | | | | | | | | |
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$.01 PAR VALUE COMMON S|N/A | | |NONE | |N/A |155,811 |I (d) |ESOP Trustee |
TOCK | | | | | | | | | |
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$.01 PAR VALUE COMMON S|N/A | | |NONE | |N/A |125,556 |I (e) |By Plateau |
TOCK | | | | | | | | | |
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$.01 PAR VALUE COMMON S|N/A | | |NONE | |N/A |512,359 |I (f) |By Crested |
TOCK | | | | | | | | | |
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<CAPTION>
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Table II -- Derivative Securitites Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned |
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1.Title of Derivative |2.Con- |3. |4. |5.Number of De |6.Date Exer|7.Title and Amount |8.Price|9.Number |10.|11.Nature of|
Security |version |Transaction | rivative Secu |cisable and| of Underlying |of Deri|of Deriva |Dir|Indirect |
|or Exer | | | rities Acqui |Expiration | Securities |vative |tive |ect|Beneficial |
|cise | | | red(A) or Dis |Date(Month/| |Secu |Securities |(D)|Ownership |
|Price of| | | posed of(D) |Day/Year) | |rity |Benefi |or | |
|Deriva- | | | |Date |Expir| | |ficially |Ind| |
|tive | | | | A/|Exer-|ation| Title and Number | |Owned at |ire| |
|Secu- | | | | | D |cisa-|Date | of Shares | |End of |ct | |
|rity |Date |Code|V| Amount | |ble | | | |Month |(I)| |
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<S> <C> <C> <C> <C><C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Stock Option (Right to|$2.90/SH|N/A | | | | |04/15|04/14|COMMON STOCK|57,200 |N/A |57,200 |D | |
Buy) | | | | | | |/92 |/02 | | | | | | |
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Stock Option (Right to|$2.875/S|12/04|A | |34,782 |A |12/04|09/25|COMMON STOCK|34,782 |N/A |34,782 |D | |
Buy) (g) |H |/98 | | | | |/98 |/08 | | | | | | |
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Stock Option (Right to|$2.00/SH|12/04|A | |15,218 |A |12/04|09/25|COMMON STOCK|15,218 |N/A |15,218 |D | |
Buy) (g) | |/98 | | | | |/98 |/08 | | | | | | |
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</TABLE>
Explanation of Responses:
a) Consists of 3,821 shares held directly by the Reporting Person, 36,389
shares held by the Reporting Person in
joint tenancy with his wife, 13,045 held in an Individual Retirement Account
for the benefit of the Reporting Person
b) Consists of 15,750 shares and 14,536 shares subject to forfeiture by the
Reporting Person. The 15,750
shares, issued under the USEG Restricted Stock Bonus Plan, are deemed "earned
out" by the Reporting Person:
(i) if he is continuously employed by USEG until he retires; (ii) if he becomes
totally disabled; (iii) upon his death, or
(iv) if the shares are claimed within three years following the occurrence of
(i), (ii) or (iii). The 14,536 shares,
issued under the 1996 Stock Award Program, vest at the rate of 20% each year
over a five year period and are
subject to the forfeiture conditions noted previously. The treasurer of USEG
holds the shares in trust for the
benefit of the Reporting Person, while the non-employee directors of USEG
exercise shared voting and dispositive
rights over all 30,286 shares. The shares do not come under the control of the
Reporting Person until termination
of employment. The toal number of shares is presently reported; distributions
to the Reporting Person will not be
reported separately. The acquisitions of the shares by the Reporting Person
from both the Bonus Plan and the
Award Program are exempt under Rule 16-b3.
c) Consists of shares held in the ESOP in an account established for the
benefit of a member of the Reporting
Person's "immediate family", as that term is defined in Rule 16a-1(e), in
accordance with Rule 16a-8(b)(2).
d) Consists of 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.
e) Consists of shares held by Plateau Resources Limited, a wholly-owned
subsidiary of USEG. The Reporting
Person is an officer of both USEG and Plateau and a director of Plateau. The
Reporting Person is not a controlling
shareholder of Plateau, and therefore the Reporting Person does not have a
pecuniary interest in the USEG
shares held by Plateau, under Rule
16a-1(a)(2)(iii).
f) Consists of shares held by Crested Corp., a majority-owned subsidiary of
USEG. The Reporting Person is an
officer of both USEG and Crested and a director of Crested. The Reporting
Person is not a controlling shareholder
of Crested, and therefore the Reporting Person does not have a pecuniary
interest in the USEG shares held by
Crested, under Rule
16a-1(a)(2)(iii).
g) Issuance of qualified (34,782) and non-qualified (15,218) stock options.
Issue date for the options is the date
of shareholder approval of amendments to the Issuer's Stock Option Plan
(December 4, 1998).
NOTE: Pursuant to SEC Rule 16a-1(a)(2), information on Plateau and Crested
is not required, however,
Registrant has
undertaken
comprehensive disclsoure and reports shares held by Plateau and
Crested as indirectly owned by the
Reporting
Person.
The Reporting Person disclaims beneficial and pecuniary interest
in the shares reported under footnotes
c, d, e and
f.
SIGNATURE OF REPORTING PERSON
/s/ Max T. Evans
DATE
January 7, 1999
