NEWS RELEASE

February 16, 2011

Acorn International is pleased to announce that Dean Slocum will continue his role as a Distinguished Lecturer for the Society of Professional Engineers (SPE) with four speaking engagements in May.

Dean will be traveling across the globe to address SPE members and interested parties on the subject of “Next Generation Stakeholder Engagement”. He will speak about the important external relations challenges faced by exploration and production programs in developing countries, and how to manage those challenges to guarantee success. He will present lectures in Aktau, Kazakhstan; Atyrau, Kazakhstan; Sakhalin, Russia; and Jakarta, Indonesia, on the following dates:

Wednesday, May 11, 2011. 06:00 PM. Kazakhstan-Aktau Section: Aktau, Kazakhstan
Thursday, May 12, 2011. 07:00 PM. Kazakhstan Section: Atyrau, Kazakhstan
Monday, May 16, 2011. 07:00 PM. Sakhalin Section: Sakhalin, Russia
Thursday, May 19, 2011. 12:15 PM. Java Indonesia Section: Jakarta, Indonesia                      

“SPE’s Distinguished Lecturer Program answers countless questions and advances technology on all fronts with more than 450 presentations each year. Lecturers recognized as experts in their field are nominated by their peers, then reviewed and selected by the Distinguished Lecturer Committee.” (www.spe.org)    

Acorn International, LLC 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 experts 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 allows 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.