SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2013

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES [Abstract]

Estimated Useful Lives and Components of Property and Equipment

Land, buildings, improvements, machinery and equipment are carried at cost.  Depreciation of buildings, improvements, machinery and equipment is provided principally by the straight-line method over estimated useful lives ranging from 3 to 45 years.  Following is a breakdown of the lives over which assets are depreciated:

Machinery and Equipment:
	Office Equipment	3 to 5 years
	Field Tools and Hand Equipment	5 to 7 years
	Vehicles and Trucks	3 to 7 years
	Heavy Equipment	7 to 10 years
Buildings and Improvements:
	Service Buildings	20 years
	Corporate Headquarter Building	45 years

Components of Property and Equipment

Components of Property and Equipment as of December 31, 2013 and 2012 are as follows:

	(In thousands)
	December 31,			December 31,
	2013			2012
Oil & Gas properties
Unproved	$	7,478		$	9,169
Proved		136,521			119,919
		143,999			129,088
Less accumulated depreciation
depletion and amortization		(57,077	)		(43,454	)
Net book value		86,922			85,634
Mineral properties		20,739			20,739
Building, land and equipment		8,334			8,469
Less accumulated depreciation		(4,135	)		(4,034	)
Net book value		4,199			4,435
Totals	$	111,860		$	110,808

Mineral Properties

Mineral properties at December 31, 2013 and 2012 reflect capitalized costs associated with our Mt. Emmons molybdenum property near Crested Butte, Colorado.  Our carrying balance in the Mt. Emmons property at December 31, 2013 and 2012 is as follows:

	(In thousands)
	December 31,		December 31,
	2013		2012
Costs associated with Mount Emmons
beginning of year	$	20,739	$	20,739
Development costs		--		--
Costs at the end of the period	$	20,739	$	20,739

Assets Held For Sale

In January 2011, we made the decision to sell our Remington Village multifamily project in Gillette, Wyoming and in September 2012, we made the decision to sell our corporate aircraft and related facilities to reduce overhead costs.  All assets classified as assets held for sale at December 31, 2012 were sold in the year ending December 31, 2013.  Operations related to Remington Village are shown in discontinued operations on the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.  For additional discussion on assets held for sale, please refer to Note G – Assets Held for Sale.

	(In thousands)
	December 31,		December 31,
	2013		2012
Assets held for sale
Remington Village	$	--	$	15,167
Corporate aircraft and facilities		--		1,884
	$	--	$	17,051
Liabilities held for sale
Remington Village	$	--	$	10,022

Reconciliation of the Total Liability for Asset Retirement Obligations

The following is a reconciliation of the total liability for asset retirement obligations:

	(In thousands)
	December 31,			December 31,
	2013			2012
Beginning asset retirement obligation	$	686		$	510
Accretion of discount		38			34
Liabilities incurred		131			142
Liabilities settled		(43	)		--
Ending asset retirement obligation	$	812		$	686
Mineral properties	$	175		$	162
Oil & Gas wells		637			524
Ending asset retirement obligation	$	812		$	686

Stock Based Compensation, Weighted Average Assumptions

USE has computed the fair values of its employee and director options using the Black Scholes pricing model and the following weighted average assumptions:

	For the years ended December 31,
	2013	2012	2011
Risk-free interest rate	1.66%	0.82% to 1.41%	1.77%
Expected lives (years)	6.0	5.0 to 6.0	6.0
Expected volatility	62.59%	61.87% to 63.59%	59.64%
Expected dividend yield	--	--	--

Weighted-average dilutive and anti-dilutive securities related to stock options

The following table details the weighted-average dilutive and anti-dilutive securities related to stock options for the years presented:

	For the years ended December 31,
	2013	2012	2011
Dilutive	--	--	--
Anti-dilutive	872,185	--	969,631