BLM approves two gas well drill permits for Koda Uinta in Uintah County, Utah

The Bureau of Land Management’s Vernal Field Office has approved two drill permits authorizing Koda Uinta, LLC, to directionally drill gas wells from the Tungsten 42-26-723 Well Pad in Uintah County, Utah. The decision, backed by a completed Environmental Assessment, covers a site in the Red Wash Unit roughly 22.6 miles southeast of Vernal — and extends beyond the wells themselves to include a well pad, pipelines, access roads, and a powerline.

BLM issues drill permits for Tungsten Well Pad

The Vernal Field Office’s approval followed a formal review process, at the end of which two Applications for Permit to Drill were granted to Koda Uinta, LLC. Those permits authorize directional drilling of gas wells from a single surface location — the Tungsten 42-26-723 Well Pad — from which operators can reach multiple subsurface targets without building out separate sites for each one.

The project sits in the Red Wash Unit, Section 26, Township 7 South, Range 23 East, Uintah County. That puts it about 22.6 miles southeast of Vernal, well inside one of Utah’s most active hydrocarbon-producing regions.

The agency also administers 700 million acres of subsurface mineral estate nationwide — a significantly larger footprint than its surface holdings.

A Responsible Official signed the decision record after Environmental Assessment DOI-BLM-UT-G010-2026-0159-EA was completed. That document is the regulatory foundation of the approval — covering not just the wells, but all infrastructure tied to the project.

Environmental assessment underpins the approval

Before the permits could go through, BLM had to analyze the potential environmental effects of the proposed work. EA DOI-BLM-UT-G010-2026-0159-EA examined well pad construction alongside the full range of associated infrastructure — pipelines, access roads, and a powerline, each bringing its own set of environmental considerations, from soil disturbance to wildlife corridor impacts.

Bundling all of those elements into a single assessment gives regulators a clearer picture of cumulative effects. The Responsible Official reviewed those findings before signing off, which is standard under the National Environmental Policy Act process — a federal official has to formally consider the analysis before any approval moves forward.

The full EA and decision record are publicly available through BLM’s ePlanning portal.

Implications for gas development in the Red Wash Unit

The Red Wash Unit isn’t new territory for oil and gas activity. It’s an established production area within the Uinta Basin — a geological formation in northeastern Utah that’s supported hydrocarbon development for decades. An approval like this fits into a long pattern of ongoing activity rather than marking any sharp departure from what’s come before.

Directional drilling is worth noting here. Instead of building separate surface locations for each well, operators reach multiple subsurface targets from a single pad, concentrating surface disturbance in one spot rather than spreading it across a broader area. It’s become standard practice in modern oil and gas development for exactly that reason.

For Uintah County, this adds to a steady stream of natural gas activity. Two wells plus associated infrastructure is a relatively modest scope — but it’s a concrete step forward for Koda Uinta, LLC as it builds out its operational footprint in the basin.

BLM’s role in managing public lands and mineral resources

BLM manages approximately 245 million acres of public land, mostly across 12 western states including Alaska, making it one of the largest land management agencies in the federal government. Its decisions carry weight well beyond surface acreage.

The agency also administers 700 million acres of subsurface mineral estate nationwide — a significantly larger footprint than its surface holdings. Mineral rights administration isn’t a side function; it’s central to what BLM does. The agency’s stated mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations, a framing that reflects a dual mandate: balancing resource development against long-term stewardship. Environmental assessments like this one are designed to navigate exactly that tension.

Questions about the Tungsten Well Pad project specifically can be directed to the Vernal Field Office at 435-781-4400.

Authorization for Koda Uinta, LLC to drill two gas wells 

Here’s the short version. The Bureau of Land Management‘s Vernal Field Office has formally authorized Koda Uinta, LLC to drill two directional gas wells from the Tungsten 42-26-723 Well Pad in Uintah County, Utah — roughly 22.6 miles southeast of Vernal, inside the Red Wash Unit.

The approval rests on Environmental Assessment DOI-BLM-UT-G010-2026-0159-EA, which analyzed the environmental effects of both the wells and all associated infrastructure. The decision record is publicly accessible through BLM’s ePlanning portal.

Taken together, the project reflects the continued pace of natural gas development in the Uinta Basin and the federal permitting framework that governs activity on public lands and mineral estates across the American West.

Kelly Lippke

Kelly is an experienced writer with 15 years of experience exploring the big stories that shape our world, from tech breakthroughs and space exploration to climate, energy, and the fascinating quirks of science. She has a talent for turning complex ideas into sharp, memorable insights that stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading.