BUSINESS AREAS

Energy

Red Willow Production Company is the Tribe’s oil and natural gas production company with operations predominately in the western United States and the Gulf of Mexico. Since the Reservation is located within the San Juan Basin, one of the most productive coal-bed methane gas fields in the U.S., the company is regarded as one of the leading experts in the extraction of methane gas from coal-bed deposits. Red Willow is also actively engaged in conventional oil and gas exploration and production, and uses state-of-the-art technologies to find and develop economic oil and gas reserves.

Red Cedar Gathering Company is a natural gas gathering and treating company headquartered in Durango, Colorado. The vast majority of its operations are located within the exterior boundaries of the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. The company gathers and treats gas from all of the geological formations and coal seams within the San Juan Basin and delivers high quality, treated gas to Intrastate and Interstate pipelines. Red Cedar is a joint venture between the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners.

Aka Energy Group, formed in 2002, is very similar to Red Cedar except that the company’s operations are all located off of the Reservation. Aka gathers and compresses natural gas from producing wells, treats the gas to remove impurities, and separates and markets the natural gas liquids from the gas stream. Following treating and processing, the remaining gas is sold into gas utility or transmission pipelines. Aka currently operates in six states.

Real Estate

GF Properties Group manages investments and operating companies in all facets of real estate. The company has expertise in planning, development, construction, and investments as well as project, asset and property management. The diverse real estate portfolio includes investments in California, Colorado, Kentucky, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri and Texas. Those investments consist of residential and mixed use land for sale, operating retail, office, industrial and apartments. As the company’s portfolio continues to grow, our focus is on acquiring income-producing properties, providing asset management services for the properties in the portfolio and divesting assets as appropriate to optimize returns.

Private Equity

GF Private Equity Group is a diversified investment and business management organization. Private Equity functions as the merchant banking arm of the Growth Fund. The company explores new areas of investment opportunities, starts new businesses and acquires direct ownership interests in companies operating in a variety of industrial sectors. Since its inception in 2003, the Private Equity Group has consummated numerous investment transactions ranging from early-stage venture capital to leveraged buyouts, special situations and investments in private equity funds.

Other Operations

Department of Energy ensures that the Southern Ute Indian Tribe receives the maximum benefit from the energy and mineral resources located on the Reservation, and minimizes the impacts of the extraction of these resources on the natural and cultural environments. DOE manages Tribal oil and gas leases and surface use agreements, and provides technical, environmental and regulatory oversight on all energy related matters both on and off the Reservation. The Department also administers the Tribe’s severance tax ordinance and conducts royalty audits in cooperation with the Office of Natural Resources Revenue.

Sky Ute Fairgrounds provides a venue for regular events such as the annual Southern Ute Fair and Powwow, rodeos, equestrian events and various other group activities. The facility is undergoing a major renovation. After the completion of this project, the Fairgrounds will have two indoor arenas, four boarding barns, 65 full hook-up RV spaces and ancillary facilities. The RV Park is open to a variety of clientele: tourists, event participants, and local and transient workers.

Southern Ute Utilities Division is the Tribe’s utility company. It operates the water and the wastewater treatment plants, natural gas and water distribution systems, coin-operated and commercial truck water sales stations, the solid waste transfer station and the wastewater collection system. The Division hauls treated water to Tribal Members, and contracts for residential and commercial solid waste removal services. It provides selected services to Tribal Members, Tribal Entities and Departments, and to non-Tribal customers such as the Town of Ignacio and other residential communities.