BLM authorizes Koda GNB LLC and Koda Uinta LLC to drill up to sixteen natural gas wells in Uintah County, Utah
The Bureau of Land Management’s Vernal Field Office has issued two separate decision records authorizing natural gas drilling in Uintah County, Utah. The approvals cover Koda GNB LLC’s Raptor 15 Pad, where the company may drill up to fourteen gas wells, and Koda Uinta LLC’s Moffit Well Pad, where two horizontal wells have been authorized — bringing the combined total to up to sixteen wells across both projects.
BLM issues dual drilling authorizations in Uintah County
The BLM Vernal Field Office didn’t issue just one decision record — it issued two. Separate companies, separate sites, separate regulatory pathways. Both went through the agency’s permit-to-drill application review process, and together they mark a notable expansion of natural gas activity in a county that already knows this industry well.
At the Raptor 15 Pad, the Responsible Official signed off on Koda GNB LLC drilling up to fourteen gas wells from a single approved pad. Over at the Moffit Well Pad, Koda Uinta LLC got the green light for two horizontal natural gas wells. That puts the combined ceiling at sixteen new wells across Uintah County.
Koda Uinta LLC will use horizontal drilling for both wells, a method that steers the wellbore along a reservoir formation rather than going straight down.
Regulatory basis and environmental review for each project
The two approvals followed different — though related — regulatory tracks. The Raptor 15 Pad authorization leaned on an Environmental Assessment prepared not by the BLM itself, but by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. That EA, designated U&O-FY26-069-EA, covered the rights-of-way for the well pad and its associated surface infrastructure.
That distinction matters. The project sits on BIA-administered lands in Section 14, Township 9 South, Range 20 East, in Uintah County. Because the wells will produce from an existing Indian Trust mineral lease, the BIA took the lead on environmental review rather than the BLM handling it independently.
The Moffit Well Pad followed a more straightforward BLM process. The agency prepared its own EA — DOI-BLM-UT-G010-2026-0215-EA — covering the full scope of proposed development, including not just the two horizontal wells, but also a new access road, a powerline, and pipeline connections.
The Moffit site sits approximately 23 linear miles southeast of Vernal, Utah, in Section 27, Township 7 South, Range 23 East. Both locations are in Uintah County, though they’re geographically distinct and governed by different land management frameworks.
Scope of infrastructure and operational details
The Raptor 15 Pad is built around efficiency. Drilling up to fourteen wells from a single pad cuts down on surface disturbance compared to spreading operations across multiple locations, and all fourteen wells will tap into Koda GNB LLC’s existing Indian Trust mineral lease areas — so the subsurface rights are already in place.
At the Moffit Well Pad, the technique is different. Koda Uinta LLC will use horizontal drilling for both wells, a method that steers the wellbore along a reservoir formation rather than going straight down. That approach maximizes contact with gas-bearing rock and can meaningfully improve production efficiency. The surface infrastructure at Moffit goes well beyond what the well count alone suggests — a new access road, a powerline for operational electricity, and pipeline connections to move produced gas off-site. All of it was part of the EA’s analysis.
Uintah County isn’t new to this kind of development. It sits within the Uinta Basin, one of the more active oil and gas regions in the American West, with a long history of hydrocarbon production. Both projects fit squarely within that established pattern.
BLM’s role and broader land management mandate
It’s easy to underestimate the scale at which the BLM operates. The agency manages roughly 245 million acres of public land spread primarily across 12 western states, including Alaska, and under a multiple-use mandate it has to balance energy development, recreation, and conservation — all simultaneously.
The BLM also administers approximately 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate nationwide. That’s a far larger footprint than surface lands alone, and it means permitting decisions like these two in Uintah County carry reach well beyond what shows up on any map.
Authorizations like the Raptor 15 and Moffit approvals are a routine part of that mandate. Companies apply to drill on BLM-administered or BLM-mineral lands, the agency reviews those applications, conducts or relies on environmental assessments, and issues decision records when it approves them. That’s the process both projects went through.
What these two authorizations mean for Uintah County
Taken together, the two decision records authorize up to sixteen natural gas wells across two distinct sites in Uintah County. Koda GNB LLC can move forward with up to fourteen wells at the Raptor 15 Pad on BIA-administered lands. Koda Uinta LLC is cleared for two horizontal wells and associated infrastructure at the Moffit Well Pad, roughly 23 miles southeast of Vernal.
Both decisions were issued by the Bureau of Land Management Vernal Field Office and are publicly available through the BLM’s ePlanning portal. For more details, the Vernal Field Office can be reached directly at 435-781-4400.
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.
