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
HERRON, HAROLD F.
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 18, 2002
5. If Amendment, Date of Original (Month/Year)
6. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable)
(X) Director (X) 10% Owner (X) Officer (give title below) ( ) Other
(specify below)
VICE PRESIDENT
7. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line)
(X) Form filed by One Reporting Person
( ) Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
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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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$.01 Par Value Common S|12/18/|M | |29,500 (a) |A |$2.40 | |D | |
tock |02 | | | | | | | | |
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$.01 Par Value Common S|12/18/|F | |20,000 (b) |D |$3.54 |129,999 |D (c) | |
tock |02 | | | | | | | | |
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$.01 Par Value Common S|N/A | | |NONE | |N/A |2,895 |D (d) |By Wife |
tock | | | | | | | | | |
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$.01 Par Value Common S|N/A | | |NONE | |N/A |24,236 |I (e) |ESOP Benef. |
tock | | | | | | | | | |
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$.01 Par Value Common S|N/A | | |NONE | |N/A |163,648 |I (f) |Relatives' ESOP |
tock | | | | | | | | | |
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$.01 Par Value Common S|N/A | | |NONE | |N/A |155,811 |I (g) |ESOP Trustee |
tock | | | | | | | | | |
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$.01 Par Value Common S|12/14/|J (h| |1,400 | |NIL | |I (j) |Custodial |
tock |98 |) | | | | | | | |
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$.01 Par Value Common S|04/25/|J (i| |3,000 | |NIL |7,600 |I (j) |Custodial |
tock |01 |) | | | | | | | |
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$.01 Par Value Common S|N/A | | |NONE | |N/A |125,556 |I (k) |By Plateau |
tock | | | | | | | | | |
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$.01 Par Value Common S|N/A | | |NONE | |N/A |1,581 |I (l) |By NWG |
tock | | | | | | | | | |
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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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Stock Option (Right t|$2.875/s| | | | | |12/04|09/25|Common Stock|34,782 | |34,782 |D | |
o Buy) (m) |h | | | | | |/98 |/08 | | | | | | |
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Stock Option (Right t|$2.00/sh| | | | | |12/04|09/25|Common Stock|40,218 | |40,218 |D | |
o Buy) (m) | | | | | | |/98 |/08 | | | | | | |
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Stock Option (Right t|$2.40/sh|12/18|M | |29,500 |D |01/10|01/09|Common Stock|29,500 |$2.40 |67,400 |D | |
o Buy) (m) | |/02 | | | | |/01 |/11 | | | | | | |
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Stock Option (Right t|$3.90/sh| | | | | |12/07|12/06|Common Stock|100,000| |55,233 |D | |
o Buy) (n) | | | | | | |/01 |/11 | | | | | | |
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Stock Option (Right t|$2.25/sh| | | | | |08/08|12/07|Common Stock|97,000 | |97,000 |D | |
o Buy) (n) | | | | | | |/02 |/11 | | | | | | |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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Explanation of Responses:
Attachment to Form 4 dated December 18,
2002.
(a) Exercise of options, paid for by surrender of directly owned
shares.
(b) Shares surrendered by the Reporting Perons to issuer as payment for
exercise of options.
(c) Consists of 47,986 shares held directly by the Reporting Person, 11,000
shares held in an Individual
Retirement Account for the benefit of the Reporting Person; 18,900 shares ad
52,113 shares subject to forfeiture.
The 18,900 shares issued under the USEG Restriction Stock Bonus Plan, are
deemed "earned out" by the
Reorting 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) or (iii). The 52,113
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 61,013 shares. The shares do not come under the
control of the Reporting Person until
termination of employment. The total number of shares is presently reported;
distributions to the Reporting Person
will not be separately reported. The acquisitions of the shares by the
Reporting Person from both the Bonus Plan
and the Award Program are exempt under Rule
16b-3.
(d) Consists of shares held directly by the Reporting Person's
wife.
(e) Consists of shares held in the U.S. Energy Corp. Employee Stock Ownership
Plan ( the "ESOP") in an account
established for the benefit of the Reporting
Person.
(f) Consists of shares held in ESOP accounts established to benefit members
of the Reporting Person's
"immediate family", as that term is defined in Rule 16 a-1(e), in accordance
with Rule 16a-8(b)(2).
(g) 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.
(h) Shares surrendered to a non-affiliated party for payment of debt incurred
by the child for whom the shares
were
held.
(i) Shares indirectly held by the Reporting Person for his minor child under
the Wyoming Uniform Transfers to
Minors Act were released to a child who is no longer a minor, and does not
reside is the same household as the
Reporting
Person.
(j) Consists of shares indirectly held by the Reporting Person through his
minor children. The Reporting Person is
Custodian over 3,000 shares, while his brother-in-law, Mark J. Larsen, is
Custodian over 4,600 shares for the
children under the Wyoming Uniform Transfers to Minors
Act.
(k) Consists of shares held by Plateau Resources Limited ("Plateau"), a
wholly-owned subsidiary of USEG. The
Reporting Person is an officer and director of both USEG and 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).
(l) Consists of shares held by Northwest Gold, Inc. ("NWG"), a subsidiary of
USEG. The Reporting Person is an
officer and director of both USEG and NWG. The Reporting Person is not a
controlling shareholder of NWG, and
therefore the Reporting Person does not have a pecuniary interest in the USEG
shares held by NWG, under Rule
16a-1(a)(2)(iii).
(m) Stock options granted under the Issuer's 1998 Incentive Stock Option
Plan, and exempt under Rule 16b-3.
(n) Stock options granted under the Issuer's 2001 Incentive Stock Option
Plan, and exempt under Rule 16b-3.
NOTE: Pursuant to SEC Rule 16a-1(a)(2), information on Plateau and NWG is
not required, however, Registrant
has
undertaken
comprehensive disclosure and reports shares held by Plateau and
NWG as indirectly owned by the
Reporting
Person.
The Reporting Person disclaims beneficial and pecuniary interest
in the shares reported under footnotes
d, f, g, j and
k.
NOTE: None of the 20,000 shares "disposed of" (as of 12/18/02) were sold.
These 20,000 shares were
surrendered to the
issuer
as payment for 29,500 shares pursuant to incentive stock
option.
SIGNATURE OF REPORTING PERSON
/s/ HAROLD F. HERRON
DATE
February 24, 2003