U.S. Energy Corp. Announces Major Operational Progress and Upcoming Catalysts at Kevin Dome Industrial Gas and Carbon Management Project

HOUSTON, Feb. 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- U.S. Energy Corp. (NASDAQ:USEG) ("U.S. Energy" or the "Company"), a growth-oriented energy company advancing a diversified industrial gas, energy, and carbon management platform, today provided a comprehensive operational update highlighting significant milestones achieved to date, substantial progress across its Montana-based Kevin Dome project, and a series of high-impact catalysts anticipated throughout 2026.

Over the past 18 months, U.S. Energy has executed a disciplined strategy to transform Kevin Dome into a scalable, vertically integrated industrial gas and carbon management hub, combining helium production, CO₂ recovery and sequestration, and enhanced oil recovery ("EOR") across Company-owned assets. Management believes this platform positions U.S. Energy at the intersection of energy security, critical industrial gas supply, and environmentally responsible carbon management.

KEY MILESTONES ACCOMPLISHED

• World-Class Resource Position Established: Through multiple strategic transactions, U.S. Energy has aggregated approximately 80,000 net acres across Montana's Kevin Dome. A third-party resource evaluation estimates approximately 1.3 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of naturally occurring CO₂ and 2.3 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of helium, underscoring the scale and longevity of the resource base.
• First-in-State MRV Leadership: The Company has submitted two Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) plans to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on its Class II injection wells—the first MRV submissions in the State of Montana. Upon approval, the Company believes its project would rank among the top 20 largest Carbon capture, utilization, and storage ("CCUS") projects in the United States, representing a significant regulatory and competitive milestone.
• Producing Industrial Gas Wells Online: U.S. Energy currently has three producing industrial gas wells delivering stable, low-decline production expected to fully supply the initial processing facility for multiple years without the need for additional drilling.
• Processing Facility De-Risked: Final engineering and design work has been completed on the Company's planned processing facility. In January 2026, U.S. Energy acquired an 80-acre strategically located plant site, optimized for power access, logistics, and offtake connectivity—materially reducing execution risk and future expansion constraints.

MANAGEMENT COMMENTS

"Over the past 18 months, we have deliberately built what we believe is one of the most compelling industrial gas, energy, and carbon management platforms in the country," said Ryan Smith, Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Energy. "From assembling a rare, large-scale resource position at Kevin Dome, to advancing Montana's first MRV submissions, securing a purpose-built plant site, and finalizing our processing facility design, our team has consistently delivered against key milestones."

"What differentiates U.S. Energy from traditional small-cap energy companies is our control of the entire value chain," Smith continued. "By fully owning the resource, processing infrastructure, and downstream utilization across our own operated assets, we have built a vertically integrated, closed-loop platform that is difficult to replicate and designed to scale."

"This project uniquely aligns commercial opportunity with responsible carbon management," Smith added. "By producing high-value helium, capturing federal incentives, and refining CO₂ for enhanced oil recovery and long-term sequestration, we are monetizing multiple products from the same molecule through diversified, recurring revenue streams. As we enter the next phase of development, we are increasing our investor outreach through an active marketing and conference schedule to ensure the market fully understands the scale, differentiation, and long-term value potential of this platform."

 MONTANA INDUSTRIAL GAS AND CARBON MANAGEMENT UPDATE

U.S. Energy's Kevin Dome acreage is supported by a favorable reservoir profile characterized by high helium and CO₂ concentrations, predictable deliverability, and low decline rates. The Company's existing producing wells are expected to provide a steady feedstock supply to the processing facility, allowing management to defer additional drilling capital while maintaining operational flexibility.

The Company's submitted MRV plans cover wells with an already-tested capacity of approximately 400,000 metric tons of CO₂ per year, providing immediate scalability for both internal use and potential third-party carbon management partnerships. Management believes that CO₂ captured from helium processing qualifies for Section 45Q tax incentives and can be deployed for reservoir pressure maintenance, enhanced oil recovery, and long-term sequestration.

PROCESSING FACILITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE UPDATE 

The planned processing facility is designed for approximately 8.0 MMcf/d of inlet capacity, producing high-purity helium while capturing and providing a steady source of refined CO₂ for EOR operations and permanent injection. The facility is expected to require approximately 2.5 megawatts of power, sourced primarily from the local grid with backup generation supported by Company-owned natural gas infrastructure.

Installation of approximately 10 miles of in-field gathering pipelines is expected to commence in Spring 2026, with completion targeted for the third quarter of 2026, aligning with anticipated commissioning timelines.

EXPECTED PRODUCTION AND COMMERCIALIZATION

At initial operations, the Company expects annual production of approximately:

• ~12 million cubic feet of helium, and
• ~125,000 metric tons of refined CO₂.

U.S. Energy is currently engaged in discussions with a global multinational industrial gas company regarding a long-term helium offtake agreement and expects to finalize commercial arrangements during the first quarter of 2026.

ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY ON LEGACY ASSETS

The Company plans to deploy a portion of its refined CO₂ into a large-scale EOR project at its 100% owned Cut Bank oil field, located near Kevin Dome. Management believes the combination of favorable reservoir characteristics, Company-controlled CO₂ supply, and existing infrastructure provides a compelling opportunity to extend field life and significantly increase recovery efficiency.

As of year-end 2025, U.S. Energy reported approximately 1.5 million barrels of oil equivalent (Mboe) of proved developed producing reserves ("PDP"), with a present value discounted at 10% ("PV-10") value of approximately $18.4 million using YE2025 SEC pricing of $65.34/bbl and $3.39/mcf.

2026 CATALYSTS AND INVESTOR OUTREACH EVENTS

 Management anticipates several value-driving milestones throughout 2026, including:

• Execution of a long-term helium offtake agreement
• Securing project-level financing
• Receipt of MRV approvals
• Completion of gathering infrastructure
• Advancement of full-field EOR development plans
• Third-party carbon management partnerships
• The Company intends to provide regular market updates as these milestones are achieved.
  
  

Upcoming conference and investor outreach events:

• February 25-26, 2026. Non-deal roadshow.
• February 26, 2026. 12:00PM EST. Emerging Growth Virtual Conference.
• March 23-24, 2026. Roth 38^th Annual Conference, Laguna Niguel, CA.
• April 14-15, 2026. Non-deal roadshow.
• May 19-20, 2026. Non-deal roadshow.
  
  

ABOUT U.S. ENERGY CORP.

We are a growth company focused on the development and operation of high-quality energy and industrial gas assets in the United States through low-risk development while maintaining an attractive shareholder returns program. We are committed to being a leader in reducing our carbon footprint in the areas in which we operate. More information about U.S. Energy Corp. can be found at www.usnrg.com.

INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT

Mason McGuire

IR@usnrg.com

(303) 993-3200

www.usnrg.com

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain of the matters discussed in this communication which are not statements of historical fact constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Words such as "strategy," "expects," "continues," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "would," "will," "estimates," "intends," "projects," "goals," "targets" and other words of similar meaning are intended to identify forward-looking statements but are not the exclusive means of identifying these statements.

Important factors that may cause actual results and outcomes to differ materially from those contained in such forward-looking statements include, without limitation: (1) the ability of the Company to grow and manage growth profitably and retain its key employees; (2) the ability of the Company to close previously announced transactions and the terms of such transactions; (3) risks associated with the integration of recently acquired assets; (4) the Company's ability to comply with the terms of its senior credit facilities; (5) the ability of the Company to retain and hire key personnel; (6) the business, economic and political conditions in the markets in which the Company operates; (7) the volatility of oil and natural gas prices; (8) the Company's success in discovering, estimating, developing and replacing oil and natural gas reserves; (9) risks of the Company's operations not being profitable or generating sufficient cash flow to meet its obligations; (10) risks relating to the future price of oil, natural gas and NGLs; (11) risks related to the status and availability of oil and natural gas gathering, transportation, and storage facilities; (12) risks related to changes in the legal and regulatory environment governing the oil and gas industry, and new or amended environmental legislation and regulatory initiatives; (13) risks relating to crude oil production quotas or other actions that might be imposed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producing countries; (14) technological advancements; (15) changing economic, regulatory and political environments in the markets in which the Company operates; (16) general domestic and international economic, market and political conditions, including the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the global response to such conflict; (17) actions of competitors or regulators; (18) the potential disruption or interruption of the Company's operations due to war, accidents, political events, severe weather, cyber threats, terrorist acts, or other natural or human causes beyond the Company's control; (19) pandemics, governmental responses thereto, economic downturns and possible recessions caused thereby; (20) inflationary risks and recent changes in inflation and interest rates, and the risks of recessions and economic downturns caused thereby or by efforts to reduce inflation; (21) risks related to military conflicts in oil producing countries; (22) changes in economic conditions; limitations in the availability of, and costs of, supplies, materials, contractors and services that may delay the drilling or completion of wells or make such wells more expensive; (23) the amount and timing of future development costs; (24) the availability and demand for alternative energy sources; (25) regulatory changes, including those related to carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions; (26) uncertainties inherent in estimating quantities of oil and natural gas reserves and projecting future rates of production and timing of development activities; (27) risks relating to the lack of capital available on acceptable terms to finance the Company's continued growth; (28) the review and evaluation of potential strategic transactions and their impact on stockholder value and the process by which the Company engages in evaluation of strategic transactions; and (29) other risk factors included from time to time in documents U.S. Energy files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Ks, Form 10-Qs and Form 8-Ks. Other important factors that may cause actual results and outcomes to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements included in this communication are described in the Company's publicly filed reports, including, but not limited to, the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2025, and future annual reports and quarterly reports. These reports and filings are available at www.sec.gov. Unknown or unpredictable factors also could have material adverse effects on the Company's future results.

The Company cautions that the foregoing list of important factors is not complete, and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements except as required by applicable law. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or any person acting on behalf of the Company are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements referenced above. Other unknown or unpredictable factors also could have material adverse effects on the Company's future results. The forward-looking statements included in this communication are made only as of the date hereof. The Company cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Finally, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements after the date of this release, except as required by law, and takes no obligation to update or correct information prepared by third parties that are not paid for by the Company. If we update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.