Acorn International LLC

101 School House Lane

Boxborough, MA 01719

+1

-

978

-

263

-

4334(o)

+1

-

978

-

501

-

2962

(c)

dslocum@

acornintl

.net

PRESS RELEASE

August 1

, 2006

Acorn

International

and its in

-

country partner

recently completed an

Environmental Impac

t

Assessment (EIA) for an international oil and gas company in advance of exploration activities

offshore the Caribbean Coast of Colombia. A user

-

friendly Environmental Management Plan and

Regulatory Register were also developed to help the client and its

contractors easily and consistently

apply the findings and recommendations of the EIA.

Impact significance and rating criteria from the EIA Assurance module of EHSS Assurance

TM

were

used to ensure world

-

class quality and

a

defensible basis for characte

rization of impacts and

recommendation of appropriate mitigation practices. This was especially important due to the

presence of a marine protection zone, including islands, corals, and sea turtle nesting/feeding habitat,

near the exploration area.

Work

was completed under a fast

-

track schedule to allow for government approvals so that the

proposed exploration activities could proceed on schedule. Approvals were granted and the

exploration activities have begun according to the timeframe desired by the o

perator.

A c orn I n ter nat i ona l , L LC

is a professional consulting services company dedicated to

delivering

world

-

class, affordable EHSS assurance and straight

-

forward results for overseas

development projects.

The company operates not through a traditional

consulting services

model but by providing structured tools and guidance to qualified host

-

country teams,

maintaining a link with international clients and building capacity in the host

-

country team.

Acorn delivers:

1.

Established teams of local country exp

erts

partnered with and directed by an expert in assuring

world

-

class EHSS assessment and management performance standards are met

2.

Advice to international industry

needing to build world

-

class EHSS programs

3.

Recruitment and oversight/management

of partners

and service providers (EHSS and other)

overseas

Working with Acorn will allow international industries to better manage the increasingly delicate

balance between meeting corporate requirements for reliable, simplified service while satisfying host

-

country

demands for maximum local content.

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